Gun Control Laws See a Circuit Court Boost, Rooted in Rahimi

Gun-free restaurants. An assault weapons ban. Handgun license requirements.

A series of appellate wins this summer for gun-control laws show how some federal appeals courts are applying the US Supreme Court’s 2024 United States v. Rahimi decision to uphold firearm restrictions, according to practitioners, law professors, judges, and court watchers.

The high court’s 2022 Bruen decision “raised the bar” for upholding such restrictions, “and Rahimi lowered it,” said Joshua Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston. “It’s easier now for gun laws to survive court scrutiny without the state having to find a very precise ...