222: The Impact of Rahimi on Domestic Violence Survivors

In 1994 the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was passed, in which Congress restricted certain people subject to final protection orders (issued after a hearing at which the respondent has an opportunity to appear) from possessing, receiving, shipping, or transporting firearms. That law held firm until February 2nd of 2023, when the Fifth Circuit ruled in USA v. Rahimi that the federal law prohibiting possession of firearms by people subject to domestic violence protection orders was unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

In our previous episode we discussed the the long legal history that led to this decision (from Heller, to Bruen, to Rahimi), but today hosts Kelly and JJ sat down with Ruth Glenn (CEO and President of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, author of the book Everything I Never Dreamed: My Life Surviving and Standing Up to Domestic Violence) and Rachel Graber (Director of Public Policy of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence) to talk about the practical implications (and effects) of this Rahimi decision.

Together, we tackle what this ruling means for survivors of intimate partner violence, for folks currently being harmed, and what it signals for us all, as we move forward into 2023? Moreover, vitally, we cover what can you be doing to fight back against decisions that cause harm.

Further reading:
Domestic Violence and Firearms (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
NCADV Appalled by 5th Circuit Ruling and Demands Better for Survivors (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
The Fifth Circuit Court Decides to Protect Abusers' Guns (John Hopkins)
Fifth Circuit Strikes Down Domestic-Violence Prohibitor in United States v. Rahimi (the Duke Center for Firearms Law)