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The decision by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals is the latest victory for gun rights advocates
since a Supreme Court ruling last June granting a broad right
for people to carry firearms outside the home.
That ruling, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen,
announced a new test for assessing firearms laws, saying
restrictions must be "consistent with this nation's historical
tradition of firearm regulation," and not simply advance an
important government interest.
In Thursday's decision, Circuit Judge Cory Wilson said banning
people under domestic violence restraining orders from owning
firearms "embodies salutary policy goals meant to protect
vulnerable people in our society."
But the judge, appointed by Donald Trump, said the Bruen ruling
made such a consideration irrelevant, and that from a historical
perspective the ban was "an outlier that our ancestors would
never have accepted."
The court threw out the guilty plea and six-year prison sentence
for Zackey Rahimi, who admitted to possessing guns found in his
Kennedale, Texas, home after prosecutors said he participated in
five shootings in Dec. 2020 and Jan. 2021.
Rahimi had been under a restraining order since Feb. 2020,
following his alleged assault of a former girlfriend.
A federal public defender representing Rahimi did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, in a written statement
disagreed with the 5th Circuit's ruling and said the Biden
administration would appeal.
"Whether analyzed through the lens of Supreme Court precedent,
or of the text, history, and tradition of the Second Amendment,
that statute is constitutional," Garland said. "Accordingly, the
Department will seek further review of the Fifth Circuit’s
contrary decision.”
The 5th Circuit is based in New Orleans, and its decision
applies in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
It had upheld the federal law last June 8, just over two weeks
before the Bruen decision, but withdrew its opinion and ordered
additional briefing.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; additional reporting
by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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