In the November 7 oral argument in U.S. v. Rahimi, the government conceded the fundamental difference between felonies and misdemeanors, which criminal defense and pro-gun attorneys will find useful. Also, direct references were made by some Justices to the issue of non-violent felons who are not dangerous. And on the separate state-law issue of whether administrative officials may have discretion to deny the right to bear arms, the government conceded that they do not.
Recall that under N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen, a person who is among "the people" has Second Amendment rights, and conduct covered by the plain text of that Amendment is presumptively protected unless the state can satisfy its burden (yes, it's the government's burden) to demonstrate that the current gun control regulation is similar to valid historical analogue laws. In Rahimi, the issue is whether any Founding-era analogue laws exist to justify the federal gun ban against persons under a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO).
To uphold the ban, the government relies on laws that punished affrays, including the brandishing of weapons to terrify others, and laws that required persons who did so to find sureties to keep the peace. Such laws are not "historical twins" to today's DVRO laws but are argued to be close enough.
