The US supreme court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday in a case which gun and domestic violence prevention groups are warning could be a matter of life and death for thousands of abuse victims and their families.
Tuesday’s hearing on United States v Rahimi is seen as one of the most consequential cases with which the nine justices will grapple this term. At stake is how far the new hard-right supermajority of the court will go in unraveling the US’s already lax gun laws, even as the country reels from a spate of devastating mass shootings.
Also at stake, say experts, are the lives of thousands of Americans, overwhelmingly women, threatened with gun violence at the hands of their current or former intimate partners.
If there is a domestic violence restraining order, it’s not just that “someone accused them”. Ironic you call the headline terribly biased. If a court has to put in on paper that you’re such a threat to someone that you get a restraining order, it makes sense you lose your guns too.
Bad guys with guns and good guys with restraining orders… Yeah that makes sense.
A restraining order is given at request. It’s exactly that someone accused them and there’s no evidence needed.
Restraining orders are great tools for abusers.
You’re conflating different things, at least for most places.
Sometimes temporary restraining orders don’t need evidence. They still need a judge to agree there is probable cause. You don’t just submit your application online and get an order in the mail.
Restraining orders of all types do have some burden of proof.
The only burden of proof is your word about previous abuse, or threats of abuse.
In a perfect world, this would always be true information stated by someone who needs protection. It is often, however, a reaction of someone vindictive and accustomed to having power over someone else.
All you need to do in a full out the form and sign it in front of the clerk. Any lawyer will probably tack on on to the filing of there’s anything contested about the divorce.
When someone leaves an abusive relationship, it’s a very dangerous time. I’m not saying that guns help in any way, but if you were going to kill someone for leaving you, you may as well get the state to say they can’t be armed.
And that is why you have a judge. Who can decide based upon the evidence to remove your right to bear arms.