Firearm Possession Ban Reinstated for Anyone Convicted of A Misdemeanor Crime Involving Domestic Violence
The United States Supreme Court today in United States v. Hayes reinstated the prohibition on possession of a firearm by a person convicted of “a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” found in U.S.C §922(g)(9). In doing so, the Court held that although a domestic relationship must be established beyond a reasonable doubt in a U.S.C. §922(g)(9) firearms prosecution, it does not need to be a element of the predicate offense. The predicate offense need only involve the use or attempted use of physical force or the threatened use of deadly weapon against a spouse or other domestic victim to qualify as a crime of domestic violence. For example, in New York a person convicted of assault in the third degree would be banned from possessing a firearm if the victim of the assault was their spouse or some other domestic victim.
