DOJ petitions Supreme Court to review 5th Circuit’s domestic violence gun ruling

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested the Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court decision that struck down a federal law barring firearm possession for individuals under domestic violence restraining orders.

Last month, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit relied on the Supreme Court’s precedent decision requiring firearm laws to be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of regulation.

The DOJ attorneys argued in an 82-page petition urging the justices to take immediate action against the February ruling claiming that the decision was profoundly mistaken. The DOJ also added that disarming individuals who pose a threat to the safety of others has been in practice for governments since ancient times.

The three-judge panel had recently vacated the conspiracy of Zackey Rahimi, who has previously pleaded guilty to possessing firearms while under a civil protection order banning him from harassing, stalking, or threatening his ex-girlfriend and their child and from having guns. The said ruling affect the States of Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana.

Since the appeals court decision, the Biden administration has been taking a stand against the court’s landmark gun precedent in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. A recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing saw the introduction of the Respect for the Second Amendment Act, a bill aimed at codifying Bruen and other landmark Supreme Court gun decisions.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), believes that some Democrats could support the codification bill as he argues that some of them voted against banning assault weapons.

Graham opposes continuing to pass regulations on law-abiding citizens, urging that there exists a more systemic issue of violent offenders being given shorter sentences in some metropolitan areas across the United States.