Second Amendment – Opinions

June 24, Natalie Nanasi, associate professor at the Dedman School of Law, SMU Dallas, and director of the Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women, for an analysis of a Supreme Court ruling that maintains a ban on firearms possession for domestic violence offenders. Published in Ms. Magazine under the heading U.S. v. Rahimi Denies Abusers Firearms. The Decision Is an Outlier: https://tinyurl.com/3vcmchfz

Survivors of domestic violence have won a battle in the war for common sense gun regulations. In an 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held Friday, June 21, that abusers subject to protective orders can continue to be denied access to firearms.

The decision in Rahimi v. United States to uphold federal law will save lives. Over half of women under the age of 45 who are murdered in the United States are killed by their intimate partner. Guns are the weapon of choice in these heartbreaking, and preventable, crimes.

Disarming domestic abusers makes our communities safer. A sizeable percentage of men who commit mass shootings have a history of intimate partner violence, and perpetrators are more likely than the average citizen to endanger the life of a police officer.

Continue reading “U.S. v. Rahimi Denies Abusers Firearms. The Decision Is an Outlier.”

Nov. 15, Natalie Nanasi, an associate professor at SMU Dallas Dedman School of Law, for a commentary evaluating the arguments brought before the U.S. Supreme Court as they consider a petition to strike laws that presently prevent domestic violence abusers from possessing guns. Published in The Hill under the heading Does the Second Amendment protect the right of abusers to own a gun? We’re about to find out: https://tinyurl.com/y5p8kyfj

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in U.S. v. Rahimi, a case that will determine whether a federal law that keeps guns out of the hands of domestic violence offenders is constitutional. In a country where an average of 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner every month, the outcome is a matter of life and death.

Before we begin, however, we must better understand how Zackey Rahimi became the focus of the case, and how and why it advanced to the Supreme Court.

Continue reading “Does the Second Amendment protect the right of abusers to own a gun? We’re about to find out.”