US appeals court allows people under domestic violence restraining orders to own guns

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that people who have domestic violence restraining orders cannot be banned from owning guns.
• The decision came from a three-judge panel consisting of Trump-appointed judges James Ho and Corey Wilson and Reagan-appointed judge Edith Jones.
• California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the ruling, suggesting on Twitter that the judge’s ruling gives “domestic abusers the right to carry firearms. 

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday ruled that people with domestic violence restraining orders have a constitutional right to own firearms

The decision was made by a three-judge panel consisting of Trump-appointed judges James Ho and Corey Wilson and Reagan-appointed judge Edith Jones. The ruling of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest in a string of lower court cases invalidating gun control laws. The ruling is the latest victory for gun rights advocates since the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen in 2022.

That ruling requires a new test for assessing firearms laws. Gun restrictions must be “consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” and not simply advance an important government interest.

Circuit Judge Cory Wilson said Thursday that not allowing people under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms “embodies salutary policy goals meant to protect vulnerable people in our society.”

The Trump-nominee judge said the Bruen ruling, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, made such a consideration irrelevant, and that the ban was “an outlier that our ancestors would never have accepted.”

A six-year prison sentence for Zackey Rahimi, who had been under a restraining order since Feb. 2020, was thrown out.

Rahimi, who was accused of assaulting a former girlfriend admitted he possessed guns after prosecutors said he was involved in five shootings in Dec. 2020 and Jan. 2021.

In a written statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland disagreed with Thursday’s ruling and said the Biden administration would appeal.

“Whether analyzed through the lens of Supreme Court precedent, or of the text, history, and tradition of the Second Amendment, that statute is constitutional,” Garland said. “Accordingly, the Department will seek further review of the Fifth Circuit’s contrary decision.”

The decision of the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit also applies in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the ruling, suggesting on Twitter that the judge’s ruling gives “domestic abusers the right to carry firearms. 

The Democrat governor endorsed a bill in the state Legislature on Wednesday that would ban people from carrying concealed guns in nearly all public places in California. The only exception would be for churches and businesses that have a sign saying guns are OK.

Source: Fox News