No Guns For Domestic Abusers, Supreme Court Rules

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal law Monday that bans people convicted of domestic violence from buying or owning guns.

Two Maine men who challenged the law had been found guilty of misdemeanor domestic violence and argued that, under common law, because their acts were "reckless" instead of "knowing or intentional," they should be able to keep their guns.

The nation's highest court ruled otherwise.

"Congress passed §922(g)(9) to take guns out of the hands of abusers convicted under the misdemeanor assault laws then in general use in the States," Justice Elana Kagan wrote in the majority opinion.

Stephen Voisine and William Armstrong were both convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence against their respective partners under Maine law. Voisine was later arrested for killing a bald eagle, and police found a rifle in his possession. A drug search of Armstrong's house led police to his guns and ammunition.

The men said their "reckless" behavior was enough for a misdemeanor charge under Maine law but not the federal law that would lead to a firearms ban.

They said that under common law the federal law does not apply to domestic violence committed in the heat of the moment. The court did not agree.

“The common law traditionally used a variety of overlapping and, frankly, confusing phrases to describe culpable mental states—among them, specific intent, general intent, presumed intent, willfulness, and malice,” Kagan wrote. "Whether and where conduct that we would today describe as reckless fits into that obscure scheme is anyone’s guess," she continued.

The case was also notable as, during oral arguments, the usually silent Justice Clarence Thomas posed a question from the bench for the first time in more than 10 years.

He asked a Justice Department attorney whether violating any other law leads to a loss of a constitutional right.

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