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In February, a three judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals in New Orleans declared that the ban was
unconstitutional, saying it violated the Second Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to bear arms. It was
the latest victory for gun rights advocates since a Supreme
Court ruling last June granting a broad right for people to
carry firearms outside the home.
The Supreme Court ruling announced a new test for assessing
firearms laws, saying restrictions must be "consistent with this
nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation," and not
simply advance an important government interest.
The Justice Department's petition to appeal the matter to the
Supreme Court was posted on Twitter late on Friday by Jake
Charles, a law professor at Pepperdine University with expertise
on gun control issues. It can take several days for a petition
to be posted to the public docket.
"More than a million acts of domestic violence occur in the
United States every year, and the presence of a firearm
increases the chance that violence will escalate to homicide,"
the petition reads.
The Justice Department said it was pursuing the Supreme Court
appeal on a "highly expedited schedule" so the justices could
potentially take up the case before the current term ends.
In its decision, the 5th Circuit panel, which was comprised of
three Republican-appointed judges, threw out the guilty plea and
six-year prison sentence for Zackey Rahimi, who admitted to
possessing guns found in his Kennedale, Texas, home after
prosecutors said he participated in five shootings in Dec. 2020
and Jan. 2021.
Rahimi had been under a restraining order since Feb. 2020,
following his alleged assault of a former girlfriend.
Neither the Justice Department, nor the federal public defender
representing Rahimi immediately responded to requests for
comment.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Nate Raymond; editing by Diane
Craft)
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