U.S. Supreme Court: Batterers should not have access to guns.

...Advocates against domestic violence today applauded the U.S. Supreme Court's 7-2 decision to uphold the federal Lautenberg Amendment that bans convicted domestic violence abusers from possessing firearms...

"Firearms and domestic strife are a potentially deadly combination nationwide."
-- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

"Arming the people who brutally beat their spouses or partners is a recipe for disaster."
-- Sue Else, President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence

"We know a gun in the home makes it much more likely that domestic abuse results in death and today's decision means we can continue keeping guns out of dangerous hands and saving innocent lives."
-- Senator Frank Lautenberg


JUSTICES UPHOLD BAN ON GUNS FOR ABUSERS
Washington Post, United States - 2 hours ago
By Robert Barnes
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
[Excerpts] The Supreme Court yesterday affirmed federal efforts to bar those convicted of crimes involving domestic violence from owning guns. It was the court's first decision concerning gun rights since last year's landmark decision recognizing an individual's Second Amendment right to own a firearm. But the 7 to 2 decision authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg contained nary a word about Heller v. District of Columbia, which struck down Washington's ban on handguns. Instead, justices wrangled over language and whether Congress's decision to ban firearms to those convicted of "a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" extended to someone convicted of a generic charge of battery, so long as there was a proven domestic relationship between the offender and the victim. Ginsburg said Congress might have been inartful in drafting the 1996 law, but its intentions and underlying concerns were clear: "Firearms and domestic strife are a potentially deadly combination nationwide." Ginsburg was citing the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in that passage, and its president, Paul Helmke, said the ruling is "the right one for victims of domestic abuse and to protect law enforcement officers who are our first responders to domestic violence incidents." [Full article here]

SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS REASONABLE RESTRICTIONS ON GUNS FOR DOMESTIC ABUSERS
PR Newswire (press release)
Peter Hamm phamm@bradymail.org
Feb. 24, 2009
[Excerpts] ...The Court cited arguments made by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence about the risks posed by firearms in the hands of domestic abusers. The 7-2 ruling in United States v. Hayes was a blow to gun lobby groups that had urged the Court to severely narrow the federal Lautenberg Amendment that bars gun possession by abusers convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence. The Court reversed an earlier ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that, if upheld, would have allowed convicted abusers in at least 25 states to rearm themselves with firearms... "Today, the Supreme Court sided with abused women and children and against the gun lobby," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), a leader in the fight to reduce gun violence and the author of the domestic violence gun ban. "Since it was enacted, my domestic violence gun ban has kept more than 150,000 guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. We know a gun in the home makes it much more likely that domestic abuse results in death and today's decision means we can continue keeping guns out of dangerous hands and saving innocent lives"... The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, joined by law enforcement organizations, had filed a brief in support of the ban on gun possession by all abusers convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, which was cited by the Court. The brief highlighted the great danger that armed abusers pose to family members of these abusers as well as law enforcement officers summoned to address such violence. On average, more than three people are killed by intimate partners every day in this country. Intimate partner homicides account for up to one-half of all homicides of females. Every year between 1,000 and 1,600 women die at the hands of their male partners, and 14 percent of all police officer deaths occurred during a response to domestic violence calls. THE GROUPS THAT JOINED THE BRADY CENTER BRIEF ARE THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE, MAJOR CITIES CHIEFS, NATIONAL SHERIFFS' ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVES, HISPANIC AMERICAN POLICE COMMAND OFFICERS ASSOCIATION, POLICE EXECUTIVE RESEARCH FORUM, NATIONAL BLACK POLICE ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL LATINO PEACE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION, LEGAL COMMUNITY AGAINST VIOLENCE, AND SCHOOL SAFETY ADVOCACY COUNCIL... [Full article here]

NATIONAL NETWORK TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PRAISES LANDMARK SUPREME COURT DECISION
PR Newswire (press release), NY
6 hours ago
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Advocates against domestic violence today applauded the U.S. Supreme Court's 7-2 decision to uphold the federal Lautenberg Amendment that bans convicted domestic violence abusers from possessing firearms. The United States v. Hayes ruling reversed a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that would have posed a serious danger to victims of domestic violence by allowing convicted abusers to maintain firearms. "We are delighted with the Court's decision to uphold reasonable limits on the possession of firearms," said Sue Else, President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV). "Batterers should not have access to guns. This decision is a major victory for victims of domestic violence and their families"... The case originated in West Virginia, and the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WVCADV) is also celebrating today's victory. "The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling aligns the Fourth Circuit with the rest of the country; confirms the intention of Congress in responding to the seriousness of domestic violence; and affirms levying real and long term consequences on people who use violence... NNEDV, joined by the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP) at George Washington University Law School, filed a brief supporting the sensible ban on gun possession by all offenders convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence. The Court cited the brief in its decision... "Arming the people who brutally beat their spouses or partners is a recipe for disaster," Else said. "The Supreme Court made the right decision by upholding the domestic violence gun ban, keeping guns out of the hands of batterers and helping victims recovering from abuse to stay safe"... [Full article here]