Supreme Court Upholds Right to Keep Guns From Abusers

In a historic 8-1 decision, the Court ruled that temporarily disarming those subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order is constitutional.

WASHINGTON, June 21, 2024 – Today the Supreme Court announced its decision in United States v. Rahimi. The Court held by a vote of 8 to 1 that the law in question, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) – a critical law that prevents gun violence and protects survivors – is constitutional, reasoning that when a person has been found to pose a credible threat to the safety of another, it is constitutional under the Second Amendment to temporarily disarm that person. In doing so, the Court emphasized an important part of its decision in Bruen: that for a modern law to be constitutional, it need not have a historical twin.

Douglas Letter, Chief Legal Officer of Brady, said:

“This is an important victory for gun violence and domestic violence prevention. Guns are the number one weapon of choice for domestic abusers, and there is no reason why anyone who is a known danger should be permitted access to firearms. Lately, the Court has gotten a lot wrong and has upheld extreme rulings – including the recent decision in Cargill – yet even this Court understands how reasonable this law is and agrees that proven approaches preventing gun violence are completely constitutional. We are grateful for this ruling and hope lower courts will follow its instruction to stop looking for historical ‘twins’.

“Survivors of domestic violence and their families can breathe a little easier today knowing their rights to life, liberty, and happiness have been upheld by this ruling. We are grateful to all the advocates who joined us in filing our amicus brief calling for this ruling, which brings us one step closer to a future free from gun violence.”