U.S. Supreme Court leans to upheld law allowing domestic-violence gun curbs

U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed to be inclined towards the legality of federal law that makes it a crime for people under domestic violence restraining order to have guns in the latest major case to test the willingness of its conservative majority to further expand gun rights.

The argument was made by President Joe Biden’s administration of a lower court’s ruling striking down the law – intended to protect victims of domestic abuse – as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms.”

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, concluded that the measure failed a stringent test set by the Supreme Court in 2022 ruling that required the gun laws to be consistent with the country’s historical tradition of firearm regulation, to survive the Second Amendment challenge.

The scope of the administration’s argument was questioned by some of the conservative judges, who holds a majority of 6-3, that under Second Amendment, people who are not “law abiding and responsible”, categories such as domestic abusers, may be barred from possessing guns.