The supreme court on Monday upheld a federal law that bans people convicted of domestic violence from owning guns.
The justices rejected 6-2 arguments in Voisine v United States that the law covers only intentional acts of abuse and not those committed in the heat of an argument.
The case involved two Maine men who said their guilty pleas for hitting their partners should not disqualify them from gun ownership.
In the words of the supreme court opinion released on Monday: “Petitioner Stephen Voisine pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend in violation of [section] 207 of the Maine Criminal Code, which makes it a misdemeanor to ‘intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cause bodily injury’ to another.
“When law enforcement officials later investigated Voisine for killing a bald eagle, they learned that he owned a rifle. After a background check turned up Voisine’s prior conviction under [article] 207, the government charged him.”
The dispute drew interest from advocates for victims of domestic abuse, who said the law applies to reckless behavior as well as intentional misconduct.
Gun rights groups argued that the men should not lose their constitutional right to bear arms because of misdemeanor abuse convictions.
A federal appeals court ruled against the men. The supreme court heard the case in February, shortly after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a champion of gun rights.
That hearing caused the conservative justice Clarence Thomas to break a 10-year silence, and question an attorney from the office of the US solicitor general.
The court’s opinion was written by Elena Kagan. Thomas wrote the dissent.
