By a vote of 8 to 1, the Supreme Court ruled today in United States v. Rahimi that a federal statute that prohibits an individual subject to a domestic-violence restraining order from possessing a firearm does not violate the Second Amendment. Chief Justice Roberts wrote the majority opinion for eight justices. Justice Thomas issued a solo dissent.
Zackey Rahimi challenged his conviction under section 922(g)(8) of Title 18, which forbids a person subject to a domestic-violence restraining order from possessing a firearm. In his opinion, the Chief Justice determines that section 922(g)(8) “fits comfortably” within a tradition of firearms laws since the Founding that “have included provisions preventing individuals who threaten physical harm to others from misusing firearms.” Applying the Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, the Chief explains that “if laws at the founding regulated firearm use to address particular problems, that will be a strong indicator that contemporary laws imposing similar restrictions for similar reasons fall within a permissible category of regulations.” And although a law “may not be compatible with the [Second Amendment] right if it [regulates arm-bearing] to an extent beyond what was done at the founding, Bruen does not require that a challenged law have a “historical twin.” It need only “comport with the principles underlying the Second Amendment.”
With the exception of Justice Alito, each of the justices who joined the Chief’s opinion wrote (or, in the case of Justice Kagan, joined) a separate concurring opinion.
The opinions of Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Barrett continue an important discussion on the role of post-ratification history in originalist interpretation. I hope to address them more fully one of these days.
In his dissent, Justice Thomas argues that “[n]ot a single historical regulation justifies” section 922(g)(8): “The Court and Government do not point to a single historical law revoking a citizen’s Second Amendment right based on possible interpersonal violence.”