Brady Supports Firearm Restrictions for Domestic Abusers

United States v. Rahimi, No. 22-915, Supreme Court of the United States

Briefs Filed:

• April 20, 2023, Supreme Court of the United States, in support of reversal
• August 21, 2023, Supreme Court of the United States, in support of certiorari

Topic: Federal prohibition on firearm possession by individuals subject to qualifying domestic violence restraining orders

Case Summary: Between December 2020 and January 2021, Zackey Rahimi was involved in five shootings in and around Arlington, TX. After these incidents, law enforcement officers obtained a warrant to search Mr. Rahimi’s home, where they found firearms. Mr. Rahimi was subject to a domestic violence restraining order; as a result, federal law prohibited him from possessing firearms. He was indicted for violating that law, and as part of his defense, he argued that the law is unconstitutional. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals initially upheld the law as constitutional, but after the Supreme Court of the United States’s decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen, the Fifth Circuit withdrew that opinion and instead struck down the law as unconstitutional. The United States filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court, which asks it to hear the case, and the Supreme Court agreed to do so. The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of the United States on June 21, 2024.

Brady’s Amicus Briefs: Brady filed two amicus briefs in this case, one in support of the United States’ petition for certiorari, and, after the petition was granted, on the merits in support of the law. On both briefs, Brady led a coalition of gun violence prevention and domestic violence groups.

In supporting the petition for certiorari, Brady’s brief explains the life-saving nature of the law being challenged, using empirical research to demonstrate the lethal reality of allowing domestic abusers access to firearms. The brief also underscores that the Fifth Circuit decision shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how to interpret cases involving the Second Amendment. The merits brief expands on these concepts, explaining that this case is at the critical intersection of gun violence prevention and domestic violence prevention, and that upholding this law has significant implications for survivors of domestic violence and for understanding of the role of the Second Amendment when considered in the context of modern societal concerns. The brief reminds the Court that removing firearms from people under domestic violence restraining orders is a common-sense, life-saving solution that is consistent with the Constitution.

In June 2024, in a 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the validity of the federal law, and largely agreed with the argument that Brady made.