Supreme Court bolsters domestic violence gun ban

The Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously bolstered the federal law that bars those convicted of domestic violence from possessing a firearm.

The court gave a wide interpretation of the law’s requirement of “physical force.” The federal government said that was important because in some states, misdemeanor domestic violence laws are not specific about the force required.

The case was brought by James Alvin Castleman, who was charged with selling firearms on the black market. He was charged with violating the federal law about firearm possession because he had pleaded guilty in Tennessee of misdemeanor domestic violence, meaning he had “intentionally or knowingly caused bodily injury” to the mother of his child.

Because the federal law requires the “use or attempted use of physical force” in its law, and Tennessee’s misdemeanor domestic violence law does not, a district judge agreed with Castleman that the federal charges should be dismissed. The judge said the federal law requires “violent contact with the victim.”

An appeals court agreed that violent physical force was necessary to prosecute under the federal law.

But the court, an opinion written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that was too literal a definition.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-bolsters-domestic-violence-gun-ban/2014/03/26/9cd87042-b501-11e3-b899-20667de76985_story.html

Other coverage in Think Progress: Man convicted of domestic violence can't possess a gun, Supreme Court rules

When it comes to “domestic violence,” even pushing or grabbing can be sufficient to bar federal gun possession, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded in a unanimous ruling issued Wednesday morning.

The ruling could have significant implications in interpreting which state domestic violence laws bar gun possession. For women in particular, domestic violence is one of the biggest risks associated with gun ownership. A Violence Policy Center review of 2011 FBI crime data found that 94 percent of female homicide victims were murdered by a male they knew, and 61 percent of those killers were a spouse or intimate acquaintance. Female intimate partners were more likely to be killed by a gun than any other weapon.