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In Supreme Court Case, the Safety of Domestic Violence Survivors Is at Stake

This series explores the intersecting legal and policy issues at play in United States v. Rahimi by centering what is at stake: the lives of countless domestic violence survivors and the future of gun violence prevention policies in the hands of an activist Supreme Court.

U.S. Supreme Court building
The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen at sunset on November 14, 2019. (Getty/Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)

Restoring Social Trust in Democracy, Gun Violence Prevention, Supreme Court, Women’s Health and Rights, Women’s Issues

In United States v. Rahimi, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine the constitutionality, under the Second Amendment, of an effective and lifesaving gun violence prevention law. The law in question—18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8)—prohibits individuals under an active domestic violence restraining order from possessing firearms, and it has proved effective at saving countless lives of domestic violence survivors for the past 27 years. If the Supreme Court finds 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8) unconstitutional, domestic violence survivors will have one less avenue for protection. Oral arguments in United States v. Rahimi are scheduled for November 7, 2023.

This series lays out the legal issues in United States v. Rahimi, the real-life consequences that survivors of domestic violence could face in a world without 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8), and how the current Supreme Court’s role in upending legal precedent in gun safety regulations highlights the politicization of the judiciary.

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In U.S. v. Rahimi, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Domestic Violence Survivor Safety but Upholds Problematic Bruen Framework Article
Photo shows a Supreme Court building partly lit inside, against a dark blue sky

In U.S. v. Rahimi, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Domestic Violence Survivor Safety but Upholds Problematic Bruen Framework

On June 21, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that a sensible and effective gun violence prevention law protecting domestic violence survivors remains constitutional; however, the fact that survivor safety was compromised because of the politicization of the judiciary—and could be again in the future—should not be forgotten.

Sabrina Talukder, Nick Wilson

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