Supreme Court strengthens domestic violence gun ban

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Wednesday strengthened a federal law that bars anyone convicted of domestic violence from possessing a gun.

In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court said the ban extended to anyone who had pleaded guilty to at least a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence, even in cases in which there was no proof of violent acts or physical injury.

The ruling overturns decisions in several regions, including the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California, which had said the ban applied only to convictions that involved a “violent use of force.”

At issue was a 1996 law in which Congress expanded an existing ban that applied to anyone convicted of a felony in a domestic violence case to include misdemeanor convictions.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Congress acted in 1996 to “close a loophole” in the law and to try to keep guns out of homes that had experienced domestic violence.

The decision in U.S. v. Castleman restores the illegal gun possession charges against a Tennessee man who had pleaded guilty in 2001 to causing “bodily injury” to the mother of his child.

In 2008, James Castleman was charged with violating federal gun laws when he was caught with firearms.

But a federal judge and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the charges because there was no proof he had “violent contact with the victim.”

Gun control advocates praised the Supreme Court’s decision.