NCJ Number
192018
Journal
Domestic Violence Report Volume: 6 Issue: 6 Dated: August/September 2001 Pages: 87-90
Date Published
2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article explains court decisions that have pertained to Federal domestic violence firearms prohibitions.
Abstract
The 1994 Gun Control Act amendments prohibit the possession of a firearm by those subject to domestic violence restraining orders and by domestic violence misdemeanants under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(8) and (9). Prior court cases had established that the amendments were valid under the Commerce Clause, since both subdivisions of the statute contain an adequate nexus with interstate commerce. To date, courts that have examined the issue have distinguished the firearm-ban provisions from those statutes invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court for exceeding Commerce Clause authority. Further, Federal courts have held that due process requires only knowledge of possession of a firearm, not knowledge that possession was illegal. In addition, courts have ruled that no equal protection violations occur when domestic violence misdemeanants are treated differently from felons or other misdemeanants. With a single exception in Emerson, supra, courts continue to reject the argument that the firearm prohibition burdens the Second Amendment right to bear arms. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine considered whether the defendant's two misdemeanor assault convictions were crimes of domestic violence such that Section 922(g)(9) would apply. The court determined that the portion of the Federal domestic violence definition applicable to the case was violence "by a person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the victim as a spouse."