US Supreme Court turns away firearms cases News
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US Supreme Court turns away firearms cases

The US Supreme Court on Monday denied certiorari in three cases involving the restoration of gun ownership rights.

The cases all involve a federal law (USC § 922(g)(1)) that imposes a lifetime ban on the ownership of firearms for persons convicted of crimes punishable by prison terms of more than one year, which includes many nonviolent crimes. The crimes in the three cases were driving under the influence, willfully making a false statement on tax returns, and criminal copyright violation and smuggling.

In declining to hear the cases, the court leaves intact lower court rulings that have held that the federal ban does not contravene the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. A statement from the Firearms Policy Coalition, which acted as counsel for two of the petitioners, said the organization was “disappointed” that the lower court rulings were allowed to stand and vowed that the organization would “immediately move forward to litigate new challenges in various circuits.”

The denials came as the US is experiencing a wave of gun violence, and after the Biden administration released a set of executive orders designed to address that violence.

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