US Supreme Court leans toward allowing domestic-violence gun curbs

investing.com:

By Andrew Chung and John Kruzel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared inclined to uphold the legality of a federal law that makes it a crime for people under domestic violence restraining orders to have guns in the latest major case to test the willingness of its conservative majority to further expand gun rights.

The justices heard arguments in an appeal by President Joe Biden's administration of a lower court's ruling striking down the law — intended to protect victims of domestic abuse — as a violation of the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment right to «keep and bear arms.»

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the measure failed a stringent test set by the Supreme Court in a 2022 ruling that required gun laws to be «consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation» in order to survive a Second Amendment challenge.

Some of the conservative justices, who hold a 6-3 majority, questioned the scope of the administration's argument that, under the Second Amendment, people who are not «law-abiding and responsible» — categories that include domestic abusers — may be barred from possessing guns.

Some of their questions, however, signaled openness to finding the law in harmony with the Second Amendment by applying a standard that would disarm people deemed dangerous, as opposed to merely irresponsible.

Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts focused on the word «responsible,» suggesting it was too broad.

«I mean, not taking your recycling to the curb on Thursdays, if it's a serious problem it's irresponsible,» Roberts said.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, representing the administration, told Roberts the term «not responsible» is