WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to weigh whether people accused of domestic violence have a right to own firearms in a case that will test the scope of recently expanded gun rights.
The justices agreed to hear a Biden administration appeal in defense of a federal law that prohibits people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns.
The case concerns Zackey Rahimi, a drug dealer in Texas whose partner obtained a restraining order in February 2020.
The case concerns Zackey Rahimi, a drug dealer in Texas whose partner obtained a restraining order in February 2020.
During an incident in an Arlington, Texas, parking lot the previous year recounted by the federal government in court papers, Rahimi was accused of knocking the woman to the ground, dragging her to his car and pushing her inside, knocking her head on the dashboard in the process. He also allegedly fired a shot from his gun after realizing that a bystander was watching.
While the protective order was in effect, Rahimi was implicated in a series of shootings, including one in which he allegedly fired bullets into a house using an AR-15 rifle, the federal government says.
Rahimi faced state charges for the domestic assault and another assault against a different woman.
The Fifth Circuit Court Decides to Protect Abusers’ Guns
Zackey Rahimi was not a responsible gun owner. He exhibited the type of behavior that identified him as a danger to both the public and those closest to him. In February 2020, Rahimi agreed to be subject to a protective order after allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend. Between December 2020 and January 2021, he was involved in five shootings. But despite acknowledging that Rahimi is “hardly a model citizen” – an understatement – the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in deciding United States v. Rahimi recently struck down the federal law prohibiting possession of firearms by people subject to domestic violence protection orders. In short, the 5th Circuit ruled that prohibiting abusers like Rahimi from possessing firearms is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. In doing so, the court sided with abusers.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
