Grandparents for Gun Safety joins with like-minded gun violence prevention groups across the country to celebrate the decision made by the Supreme Court Friday, June 21. In an 8-1 ruling in United States v. Rahimi, they affirmed that domestic abusers do not have the constitutional right to possess a gun. This decision reverses an extreme one from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down the longstanding federal law keeping domestic abusers who are subject to protective orders from possessing guns. This is vital, as data has shown the presence of a firearm in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.
This is a wonderful win for domestic violence and gun violence and prevention groups like ours. We will continue our work of promoting common ground gun legislation and hope this decision can keep lower courts from blocking their implementation.