Court Rules Second Amendment Prohibits Federal Pre-Conviction Firearms Ban
Source: NRA-ILA | Repost Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association 9/30/2022
Last week, a federal judge in the Western District of Texas ruled that a law which prohibits the acquisition of firearms by someone who is under felony indictment violates the Second Amendment. The decision to invalidate a major provision of the Gun Control Act of 1968 underscores the gravity of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which prescribed a standard of review that lower courts must apply when resolving Second Amendment cases. The case from the Western District of Texas is United States v. Quiroz.
The federal law at the center of Quiroz is codified at 18 U.S.C. 922(n). It states:
It shall be unlawful for any person who is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce any firearm or ammunition or receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
An indictment occurs when prosecutors present evidence to a grand jury that there is probable cause a person has committed a crime, and the jury agrees. This decision can then be used as the basis for the government to prosecute the person for the offense.