Garland goes on offense to protect firearms ban appeals court ruled unconstitutional
Kaelan Deese
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Attorney General Merrick Garland went on the offensive Thursday after an appeals court ruled the government can’t stop people who have domestic violence restraining orders from owning firearms, vowing to “seek further review” of the decision.
In a unanimous opinion by a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, the ruling held that last year’s landmark Supreme Court decision, known as New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, set a new test for interpreting the Second Amendment by requiring the government to justify gun control laws by showing they are “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
“Nearly 30 years ago, Congress determined that a person who is subject to a court order that restrains him or her from threatening an intimate partner or child cannot lawfully possess a firearm,” Garland wrote in a statement after the 5th Circuit decision, implying the court doesn’t have the ability to override a congressional statute.
LAW BARRING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENDERS FROM POSSESSING GUNS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, COURT RULES
“Whether analyzed through the lens of Supreme Court precedent, or of the text, history, and tradition of the Second Amendment, that statute is constitutional. Accordingly, the Department will seek further review of the Fifth Circuit’s contrary decision,” Garland added.
The appeals court vacated the conviction of Zackey Rahimi, who previously pleaded guilty to possessing firearms while under a civil protective order that banned him from harassing, stalking, or threatening his ex-girlfriend and their child and also banned him from having guns.
Three Republican-appointed judges on the panel maintain that the federal law Rahimi was found in violation of was an “outlier that our ancestors would never have accepted,” referring to a quote from the Bruen decision last summer, in which the 6-3 conservative supermajority on the high court struck down New York’s strict concealed carry permit regime.
Based in New Orleans, the 5th Circuit’s decision affects Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi.
Thursday’s 5th Circuit decision also drew the ire of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who released a statement lambasting the Supreme Court’s recent updates to firearms precedent.
“This is what the ultra-conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court wants. It’s happening, and it’s happening right now,” said Newsom, who has recently endorsed stricter gun control after a string of mass shootings in the Golden State.
Garland’s statement signaled the government might appeal the decision in the near future.
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Jacob Charles, a Second Amendment law expert at Pepperdine Caruso Law, indicated on Thursday that the Supreme Court would likely weigh in on the 5th Circuit decision at some point.
“Looks like we’re going to get a new Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment sooner rather than later because this new Fifth Circuit ruling strikes down the federal law prohibiting firearm possession by those subject to DV restraining orders,” Charles tweeted.