A U.S. court ruled Thursday that the federal government can’t stop people with domestic violence restraining orders from owning guns.
The three-judge panel called the 1994 law an “outlier that our ancestors wouldn’t have accepted.”
The Fifth District Court of Appeal’s ruling doesn’t affect similar state laws. However, proponents of the right to bear arms point to the decision as the latest sign that a new era for gun rights is here following the Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen decision in June.
The Daily Caller explains:
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth District ruled that the federal criminal statute did not fit “within our Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” a requirement for all gun laws set forth in the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen (NYSRPA v. Bruen) case in June, according to the ruling. The law, established in 1994, blocked the transfer of a firearm to anyone who was placed under a court protective order for “harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner,” further saying that the aforementioned individual cannot possess a firearm or ammunition.
“The question presented in this case is not whether prohibiting the possession of firearms by someone subject to a domestic violence restraining order is a laudable policy goal. The question is whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), a specific statute that does so, is constitutional under the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. In the light of N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022), it is not,” U.S. District Judge Cory Wilson wrote in the ruling.
Yesterday’s decision nullifies the conviction of Zackey Rahimi, a Texas resident the government charged with possessing a firearm despite being under a domestic violence prevention order. The judges found Rahimi’s charges unconstitutional following the precedent set by the Supreme Court in NYSRPA v. Bruen.
Writing for the court, Judge Wilson concluded:
In sum, our Founders envisioned a nation in which both citizen and sovereign alike play important roles in protecting the innocent against violent criminals. Our decision today is consistent with that vision. I concur.
READ NEXT: Republican Politician Victim of Horrific Crime
I’m not sure I would celebrate the decision to allow persons with a history of violence or threats of violence to institutions such as schools, abused women, and stalking, the right to buy, carry, or possess a firearm. That’s what the “red flag” laws were supposed to prevent. I realize such laws do open the door to abuse by gun-grabbers. The best way might be tougher laws and enforcement against those making viable threats. It’s a tough problem to solve without trampling the rights of lawful firearms owners.
Anyone that gets mad at you including neighbors, family can say you are not fit to have a gun, that is bull it’s all our rights, if someone caught doing something wrong with a gun is much different thing, and it should be Nation Wide Constitutional Carry not the state or federal to have a registration or license it’s not their right to INFRINGE on our RIGHTS
How about actually enforcing the Constitutional laws already on the books? Better yet, make “gun crimes” (actual crimes; murder, robbery, assault, etc) mandatory 10 years additional and non-discretionary or alterable prison time. ANY gun crime carries that penalty. Guess what will happen after a bit of time and a ton of asshats in prison… Do the exact same thing for people evading police in vehicles… no more pursuits. This will nearly eliminate the death of innocents by ruthless criminals who think they can just drive away. More gun crimes today because of lax laws. More pursuits today, hence innocent’s deaths today, because of lax laws.
In these days we all need to protect ourselves from criminals, and illegal government push to take our rights away the nsa need closed immediately permanently they spy on us not the illegals or the enemy within that includes politicians,government, judges, lawyers, police, anyone trying to Change, Twist, Distort,Ignore, our rights are Traitor’s Treasonous Traitor’s must be held accountable starting with biden and his administration obama soros, gates, othe millionaires, billionaires, that are paying for the destruction of America, American Citizens, Our Constitution As Written
I have no problem with the notion of prohibiting perpetrators of domestic violence being considered too dangerous to have a gun — providing the facts are clear and the person is provided due process. Unfortunately, in many cases, domestic violence accusations are malicious and unfounded. The burden of proof that someone is too dangerous to own a gun should be beyond a reasonable doubt. Red flag laws by their nature are distractions from bigger issues such as inner city gang violence, random attacks on police, armed carjackings, violent criminals being released from jails because of “social justice,” and seriously psychologically disturbed folks who fall through the cracks of the background check system because of infractions when they were minors or other situations where the psychiatric problem is not identified to the database.