LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a federal gun control law intended to protect domestic violence victims.
Justices ruled eight to one in favor of a 1994 ban on firearms for people who are under restraining orders to stay away from their spouses or partners.
Friday’s decision came after a domestic violence case in Texas challenged the fact that Zackey Rahimi was not supposed to have any guns after being accused of attacking his girlfriend.
It was the high court’s first major ruling. It basically means that when a person poses a threat to the safety of another person, they can be temporarily disarmed, according to the Second Amendment.”
Tanesha Ash-Shakoor is a survivor of domestic violence turned advocate. She said her abuser didn’t use the gun on her but threatened her with it multiple times. Now, the owner and founder of Voices of Color, a nonprofit organization fighting against domestic violence, Ash-Shakoor, called the ruling crucial for several reasons:
Coercive Control: Abusers often use the mere presence of a gun to coerce, threaten, and terrorize their victims, causing significant psychological harm even when the weapon is not discharged. This coercive control can lead to a heightened risk of lethal outcomes in domestic violence situations.
Preventing Intimate Partner Homicides: Access to firearms significantly increases the risk of murder by an abusive partner. When an abusive partner has access to a gun, a domestic violence victim is five times more likely to be killed. Gun safety laws that prevent individuals with histories of domestic violence from accessing firearms can save lives and prevent firearms from being used as tools of intimidation and abuse.
Reducing Fatalities: Firearms are more likely to turn domestic violence fatal. Every month, an average of 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner. Access to a gun makes it five times more likely that a woman will die at the hands of a domestic abuser. Implementing common-sense laws that keep guns out of the hands of abusive partners can reduce gun violence and domestic violence fatalities.
Enhancing Victim Safety: Laws that restrict access to firearms for individuals with histories of domestic violence are associated with lower rates of violence against women and intimate partner homicides. Disrupting abusers’ access to firearms reduces the likelihood of intimate partner violence becoming deadly, thereby enhancing victim safety and well-being.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called the decision to temporarily ban domestic violence abusers from having a gun a victory. “And this is a victory for crime victims and survivors everywhere. But, no more so than the estimated 4.5 million women who have been threatened by an intimate partner with a gun.”
“It’s like a temporary disarmament, and then the court has to reconsider it,” said Cooley Law professor Michael McDaniel. He said it’s almost identical to Michigan’s red flag laws.
“I have been very concerned that Michigan’s red flag law might be challenged, and successfully, if the Rahimi case, this case we’re talking about today, went the other way.”
The National Rifle Association (NRA) continues to challenge red flag laws across the country. In a statement sent to News 10, the NRA’s executive director, Randy Kozuch, said:
“The Supreme Court’s narrow opinion offers no endorsement of red flag laws or of the dozens of other unconstitutional laws that the NRA is challenging across the country that burden the right of peaceable Americans to keep and bear arms. This decision holds only that an individual who poses a clear threat of violence may be temporarily disarmed after a judicial finding of dangerousness.”
Ripple effects are expected following Friday’s court decision. It could cause lower courts to be more hesitant in striking down laws that prevent abusers from having guns.
This is just one of several federal gun restrictions currently facing legal challenges.
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