The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal challenging the federal law prohibiting nonviolent felons from owning firearms.
Driving the news: The case involved Melynda Vincent, a Utah woman barred from gun ownership after a 2008 felony bank fraud conviction.
- Lower courts upheld the gun ban, ruling it did not violate Vincent’s Second Amendment rights.
- The prohibition stems from the 1968 Gun Control Act, which restricts gun ownership for those with serious criminal convictions.
Zoom in: The Trump administration urged the court to leave the restriction intact but noted the Attorney General has limited authority to restore gun rights to some nonviolent felons.
- The Supreme Court has recently declined to hear several similar challenges from nonviolent felons.
- While the court has generally taken a broad view of Second Amendment rights in recent years, it did not extend this to nonviolent felons.
- The 2022 Bruen decision broadened gun rights but required firearm laws to be consistent with America’s historical traditions.
- In 2024, the court upheld a law that bars gun ownership for people under domestic violence restraining orders, meeting the Bruen test.
What we’re watching: The justices are also considering other major Second Amendment cases this term, including restrictions on gun possession by illegal drug users and carrying handguns on private property open to the public.
