Natalie is a Professor at SMU Dedman School of Law. She is the founding Director of the law school’s Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women, where she teaches and supervises students representing survivors of gender-based violence in a broad...
Read MoreIn my last post, I highlighted the poor quality of record keeping with regard to misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence. Today, I would like to highlight another aspect of firearms prohibitions attached to these same kinds of crimes. The BATFE has published a document outlining...
Read MoreJonathan Goldstein is a founding partner of Goldstein Law Partners and a national expert in firearms law. He frequently lectures on firearms law and safety and consults with lawmakers on related public policy. His amicus brief in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v....
Read MoreOn March 20, 2025, the Attorney General published an Interim Final Rule titled Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority. This pertains to the “relief from disabilities” provision in 18 U.S.C. § 925(c), which created a pathway for those prohibited from possessing firearms under §...
Read MoreFederal law has long prohibited convicted felons from possessing firearms or ammunition. The U.S. Sentencing Commission reports that there are more than 7,000 convictions per year for violations of this law—almost all men, and disproportionately black and Hispanic men. The prior felony convictions that made...
Read MoreA recent Tenth Circuit decision, United States v. Warner, highlights the problems with one of the two avenues the Gun Control Act provided for some convicted felons to have their gun rights restored: obtaining expungement and full rights restoration at the state level. Courts since...
Read MoreThe Second Amendment provides: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The Supreme Court has interpreted the amendment to apply to individuals irrespective any service...
Read MoreOn January 23, the Fifth Circuit released a rather odd decision rejecting an as-applied Second Amendment challenge to the federal law prohibiting felons from having firearms, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), in the case United States v. Giglio. Judge Elrod wrote the opinion for the panel....
Read MoreIn United States v. Quiroz (Jan. 13, 2025), the Fifth Circuit upheld the federal law banning gun purchases/sales for those under felony indictment, as well as the related false-statement-on-background-check law. (For readers wanting a quick rundown about the case, here's an accurate, concise news report)....
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