How to Handle Domestic Violence and Gun Rights

You wouldn’t want to live next door to Zackey Rahimi. According to court documents, he has a history of dealing drugs. In 2019, he assaulted his girlfriend and fired a gun at a passerby who witnessed the attack. Months later, he had a traffic accident and shot at the other driver. In 2020 he threatened another woman with a gun. In 2021 he fired a gun when his friend’s credit card was declined.

After the 2020 assault, his girlfriend obtained a domestic-violence restraining order, and thus, under federal law, Mr. Rahimi may not legally own guns. He challenged that law as an infringement of his Second Amendment rights, and the U.S. Supreme Court will hear his case on Tuesday. A ruling in his favor could also affect extreme-risk protective orders, known as red-flag laws, which authorize judges to confiscate firearms without a hearing based merely on a written complaint.