The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a Second Amendment case that could have major implications for domestic violence cases. United States v. Rahimi involves a Texas man, Zackey Rahimi, who was issued a civil domestic violence restraining order in 2020 after his ex-girlfriend claimed he assaulted her and threatened to shoot her if she told anyone.
In October 2021, police arrested Rahimi for five unrelated shooting incidents. When investigators searched his home, they found two firearms. Rahimi was indicted and pled guilty to violating the federal statute barring him from possessing a gun.
According to federal statute Title 18 U.S.C § 922 (g)(8), any person under a civil protection order is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals initially upheld Rahimi’s conviction, but reversed course after the Supreme Court issued its decision in the Bruen case. In the Bruen case, the court ruled that for gun laws to be justified, “the government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition.”
The Fifth Circuit Court agreed with Rahimi, and it ultimately ruled that the federal statute violated his Second Amendment rights.
The Supreme Court justices will have to decide whether Americans who are accused of domestic violence and under a restraining order should have a right to access their guns.
Victim advocates are opposed, arguing that “a woman is five times more likely to be murdered when her abuser has access to a gun,” according to The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence.
If the Supreme Court sides with Rahimi, domestic violence victim advocates say more women and domestic violence survivors will be killed if their abusers have access to guns.
On the other side of the issue, gun rights advocates argue that a person placed under a civil protection order has not been convicted of a crime, and they should not be stripped of their Second Amendment rights.
The National Rifle Association filed a brief on behalf of Rahimi in the case that says in part: “Rahimi should not only lose his Second Amendment liberties, but he should also lose all of his liberties — if the allegations against him are ultimately proven true with sufficient due process.”
Oral arguments in United States v. Rahimi are scheduled for Nov. 7. A decision will likely come down in June or July of 2024.
