After a string of domestic violence-related shootings over the holidays, a gun safety group underscored the need for the Supreme Court to uphold a federal law in a case concerning domestic abusers’ ability to possess firearms.
The group, Everytown for Gun Safety, sent out a release on Tuesday highlighting a series of fatal shootings stemming from domestic violence across the country.
In New York, a police sergeant shot and killed his wife and two sons before taking his own life over the holiday weekend. In Chicago, on 31 December a woman was fatally shot by a man whom she had a protective order against, ABC7 reported. In Baltimore, a woman was shot by her boyfriend in a parking garage on New Year’s Day, according to CBS News.
Although not mentioned by Everytown, in Dover, Massachusetts a married couple and their daughter were found dead in their luxurious mansion on 28 December. Investigators later found that the father shot his wife and daughter before turning the gun on himself.
Everytown’s release stated, “Gun violence and domestic violence are inextricably linked.” The gun safety group then turned to United States v Rahimi, which the nation’s highest court heard arguments for in November.
The case centres on the constitutionality of a federal law that prohibits a person who is subject to a domestic violence restraining order from possessing a gun.
“Currently, 32 states have laws on the books that prohibit firearm possession by individuals under a domestic violence restraining order and 22 states have laws that require individuals subject to a domestic violence restraining order to surrender their firearms,” Everytown wrote, “if the Supreme Court sides with abusers over survivors, each of these state-level laws could also be put on the chopping block.”
“This year all eyes are on the Supreme Court to overturn the Fifth Circuit’s deadly decision and protect domestic violence survivors,” the group added.
In 2019, a court forced Zackey Rahimi to relinquish his gun after his then-girlfriend obtained a two-year restraining order against him; despite the court’s ruling, Rahimi was involved in five separate shootings across a two-month period.
He was charged with violating the federal restraining order gun law, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to prison. However, Rahimi then argued that the law infringed on his Second Amendment rights. Although the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals initially upheld the court’s decision, after the Bruen decision, the Fifth Circuit reversed its ruling.
After hearing oral arguments, the justices seemed inclined to uphold the federal law banning firearms from identified dangerous individuals. The decision is expected in late June.
