An appeals court panel on Thursday struck down a federal law banning people who have domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms.
The 5th Circuit three-judge panel, all nominated by Republican presidents, ruled that the law was no longer constitutional under the Supreme Court’s landmark expansion of Second Amendment rights last summer.
The Supreme Court justices ruled in the June New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision that firearm regulations must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition, and that lower courts could no longer weigh the societal benefits of the policies.
That shift proved fatal for the law, which was upheld previously and prohibited those under domestic violence court orders from possessing firearms.