United States v. Rahimi

On June 21, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), in an 8 – 1 decision, delivered a victory to survivors of domestic violence by upholding the federal law that prohibits individuals subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms.

How did we get here?

In December 2019, Zackey Rahimi assaulted his girlfriend and threatened to take away the child they shared. During the assault, Rahimi knocked his girlfriend to the ground, dragged her to his car, and shoved her inside – hitting her head on the dashboard. This assault took place in a public parking lot, where a bystander was witness. Upon realizing a bystander had witnessed the assault, Rahimi took out his firearm and shot at the bystander. Rahimi also threatened to shoot his girlfriend if she told anyone about the assault.

In February 2020, a Texas state court granted the victim a two-year protection order against Rahimi. Rahimi was present for the hearing and signed an acknowledgment that he had received a copy of the order. This protection order banned Rahimi from contacting the victim prohibited him from possessing firearms. Despite the prohibition, Rahimi repeatedly violated the court order, threatening another woman with a gun, firing a gun in five different locations within a one month period – one incident involved Rahimi firing multiple shots in the air after a restaurant declined his friend’s credit card. After Rahimi was identified as the suspect in those shootings, police searched his house and found multiple firearms, ammunition, and a copy of the protection order. Rahimi was charged and sentenced to six years in prison, but continued his legal challenge, ultimately landing his case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Why is this case important?

Keeping guns out of the hands of abusers not only saves the lives of domestic violence victims, but also the community as a whole. Abusers use guns as a means to threaten and control a victim. An abuser may threaten to kill the victim, their children, their family, and/or other individuals close to the victim. The trigger doesn’t have to be pulled to inflict harm, threats involving a gun is a form of emotional abuse, which can be just as damaging as physical abuse. Emotional abuse involves non-physical behaviors that are meant to control, isolate, and frighten a victim. Abusive relationships don’t start out abusive; they escalate over time. It could be that an abuser has made threats throughout the relationship – following through on some, but not on others – so when it happens that a gun becomes part of those threats, it leaves the victim with an incredibly difficult decision. Perhaps they have been thinking about leaving the relationship, but now that their abuser has started making threats with a gun, the victim now has to decide if it’s worth taking the risk. Will the abuser injure or kill them? Will the abuser injure or kill their children (if they have any), or other family members? This is basically putting the victim in a position to decide whose life is more important. And it may be that the abuser doesn’t intend to actually use the gun to injure or kill anyone, but how does a victim know that? When we talk about why victims don’t just leave, this is what we’re talking about. Can you imagine having to make that decision?

The statistics around guns and domestic violence are alarming. Access to a gun makes it five times more likely that a woman will die at the hands of an abuser (Everytown). Every month, 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner (Everytown). Guns in the hands of abuser is not only dangerous to victims, it also puts the entire community at risk. A study of mass shootings from 2015 – 2022 showed that in 46% of mass shootings (where four or more people were killed or injured), the perpetrator shot an intimate partner or family member (Everytown). When we say that domestic violence is not something that just happens behind closed doors and that it is a community issue, this is what we’re talking about. Guns in the hands of abusers puts our entire community at risk. Restricting abuser access to guns makes everyone safer.

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Harmony House

The mission of Harmony House is to provide shelter, advocacy and education to survivors of domestic violence and promote the principle that all individuals have the right to life free of abuse.

Since 1976, our emergency shelter and supportive outreach case management programs have offered individuals and their children the opportunity to rest and heal both emotionally and physically in a supportive environment. We believe you. You are not alone and we can help!

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