Washington — The recent fallout from the Supreme Court’s groundbreaking Second Amendment decision rolled out last year has been showcased as the justices evaluate a high-stakes case. The case places the right to bear arms against a federal law that seeks to protect domestic violence victims by preventing guns from reaching their alleged abusers.
The arguments in the dispute were the first to reach the court since the conservative majority imposed a new test last year assessing whether a firearms restriction is actually constitutional. This has sparked confusion and frustration among the nation’s federal judges as they grapple with unprecedented challenges to well-established laws.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who represents the government before the Supreme Court, urged the justices to correct what she said was the “deep misreading” of their recent decision, which has caused “destabilizing consequences” and led to the invalidation by lower courts of widely accepted gun restrictions like those disarming convicted felons. “History and tradition confirm common sense,” she said in closing remarks. “Congress can disarm armed domestic abusers.”
The discussions took place amid the backdrop of a recent mass shooting, which has prompted calls for federal action to combat gun violence once again. The case, known as U.S. v. Rahimi, challenges a law enacted by Congress nearly 30 years ago that prohibits people under domestic violence restraining orders from having firearms.
Zackey Rahimi, a Texas man, was subject to a restraining order and had threatened another woman with a gun, when he was found to have fired guns in public multiple times. He was indicted for unlawfully having a gun while under a domestic violence restraining order. However, he challenged the constitutionality of the 30-year-old prohibition under the Second Amendment. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately tossed out Rahimi’s conviction and struck down the gun law. The Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed in late June to review the 5th Circuit’s decision.
The court is expected to clarify how lower courts should apply the history-and-tradition test adopted in its prior Second Amendment ruling. The case, which has drawn opinions from pro-Second Amendment groups and gun control organizations, could prove to be pivotal in shaping future gun laws.
