By Darren Lyn
HOUSTON, United States (AA) - The US Supreme Court ruled on Friday to uphold a federal gun control law meant to protect victims of domestic violence.
The justices ruled 8-1 in favor of a 1994 ban on firearms for abusers under restraining orders to stay away from their spouses or partners, reversing a 2022 ruling from the federal appeals court in New Orleans that had struck down the law.
"Our tradition of firearm regulation allows the Government to disarm individuals who present a credible threat to the physical safety of others," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in his ruling in United States v. Rahimi case, adding that the law uses "common sense" and applies only "after a judge determines that an individual poses a credible threat" of physical violence.
President Joe Biden, who has been a staunch supporter of tightening safety restrictions on the country's gun control laws, praised the ruling.
"No one who has been abused should have to worry about their abuser getting a gun," Biden said in a statement. "As a result of today’s ruling, survivors of domestic violence and their families will still be able to count on critical protections, just as they have for the past three decades."
US Attorney General Merrick Garland voiced his opinion about the high court's decision on the case regarding the Constitution's Second Amendment -- which affords Americans the right to bear arms -- saying that the Justice Department "will continue to enforce this important statute, which for nearly 30 years has helped to protect victims and survivors of domestic violence from their abusers."
"As the Justice Department argued, and as the Court reaffirmed today, that commonsense prohibition is entirely consistent with the Court’s precedent and the text and history of the Second Amendment," said Garland in a statement.
Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenting vote, saying that the law "strips an individual of his ability to possess firearms and ammunition without any due process."
"Not a single historical regulation justifies the statute at issue," Thomas wrote, adding that the government "failed to produce any evidence" that the law is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Roberts countered that argument, citing American history in his opinion.
"Since the founding, our nation’s firearm laws have included provisions preventing individuals who threaten physical harm to others from misusing firearms," he wrote.
Firearms are the most common weapon used in homicides of spouses, intimate partners, children or relatives in recent years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The nonprofit gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety added that 70 women per month, on average, are shot and killed by their intimate partners.