On November 7, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case challenging the federal law that has been in effect for almost 30 years which prohibits an individual who is the subject of a qualifying domestic violence restraining order from possessing a firearm. The case, U.S. v. Rahimi, comes at a time when firearms significantly contribute to incidents of intimate partner violence across the country. 

A CDC report from October 2022 estimated that over twelve million adults in the United States are victims of domestic violence each year.  A study by Campbell et al shows that a domestic abuser’s access to firearms is one of the most significant risk factors for the escalation of domestic violence. An abused woman is five times more likely to be killed by a male partner when there is a firearm in the house.