Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the domestic violence gun ban

The Supreme Court handed down its most significant gun control ruling in two years on Friday, upholding a federal law that bars people who are the subject of domestic violence restraining orders from owning weapons.

The Supreme Court handed down its most significant gun control ruling in two years on Friday, upholding a federal law that bars people who are the subject of domestic violence restraining orders from owning weapons. With conservatives and liberals joining the 8-1 majority, the decision was a major win for gun safety groups and victims of domestic violence. It limited a controversial standard the high court’s conservatives had set down in 2022 that required gun prohibitions to have a connection to history to survive constitutional scrutiny. But the majority opinion from Chief Justice John Roberts also left unanswered key questions about when the government may disarm non-violent criminals. The case centered on a 1994 law that bars people who are the subject of domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns. A Texas man, Zackey Rahimi, was convicted for violating that law following a series of shootings. Here’s a look at some key takeaways from the decision. Two years ago, in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court said that to survive a challenge, gun laws must have some connection to the nation’s history and tradition. That sent lower courts scurrying into historical analyses to figure out if modern gun laws had some connection to the 18th Century.