Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban - Constitutionality

Constitutionality

Arguments that have been advanced against the law include opinions that the law:

• violates the right to keep and bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution;
• is contrary to the Tenth Amendment, making firearm and ammunition possession a federal felony due to a previous state misdemeanor charge;
• is an ex post facto law, and thus, unconstitutional.

No United States Court of Appeals has accepted these arguments, however.

Supporting the law is that the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that Congress, under the interstate commerce clause, has the authority to regulate items that enter, or could enter, interstate commerce; guns can easily be transported across state lines. Courts have upheld the authority of the government to restrict the gun rights of categories of people, including criminals, the mentally ill, etc., ruling that prohibiting a narrow category of people from owning firearms does not violate the Second Amendment.