Source: http://pipestemlaw.com/niwrc-urges-the-supreme-court-to-uphold-firearm-protections-for-survivors-of-domestic-violence/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 00:12:08+00:00

Document:
Taking action to protect and preserve the sovereignty of Tribal Nations to protect their women and children.
(Lame Deer, MT) Today the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (“NIWRC”) files an amicus brief in support of the United States Department of Justice, asking the United States Supreme Court to affirm the First Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Voisine v. United States. The NIWRC is joined by six Indian Nations that have—or are prepared to—implement and prosecute cases under the Violence Against Women Act § 904’s special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction; the Tribal Law and Policy Institute; and seventeen tribal coalitions that work on the ground to assist survivors and end domestic violence in their communities. Collectively, the NIWRC and their fellow Amici urge the Supreme Court to uphold the application of federal firearm prohibition to individuals who have been convicted of domestic violence crimes against Native women.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Voisine has the potential to uphold, or undermine, significant federal protections for Native women survivors of domestic violence. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), also known as the “Lautenberg Amendment” prohibits individuals convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” from possessing, trading, etc. firearms and/or ammunition. In Voisine, the First Circuit concluded that in enacting the federal firearm prohibition in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), Congress intended to prohibit all individuals convicted of domestic violence crimes in Federal, State, or Tribal Courts from purchasing and/or possessing firearms—regardless of whether their underlying domestic violence conviction was labeled as a “reckless” or “intentional” crime.
Petitioners, however, urge the Supreme Court to overturn the First Circuit’s decision and conclude that Congress did not intend for § 922(g)(9)’s firearm prohibition to apply to criminals convicted of reckless domestic violence crimes. According to Petitioners, only those domestic violence crimes that are prosecuted as having been committed “knowingly” or “intentionally” should fall under the ambit of Congress’ federal firearm prohibition. Because many Tribes allow for the prosecution of domestic violence crimes classified as “reckless,” excluding reckless crimes from the reach of § 922(g)(9) will place a large number of Native women in grave danger.
“For Native women, the lethal threat a gun imposes in the home of a domestic violence perpetrator is especially severe given that guns are involved in over one-third approximately 35 percent, of homicides against Native women,” explains Cherrah Giles, NIWRC Board President.
“We know domestic violence is not a one-time crime,” states Jaqueline Agtuca, NIWRC’s Policy Consultant. “Domestic violence is a crime that is repeated and only increases in severity.” “Given the high rates of abuse, violence, and homicide that Native women experience, the presence of a gun in the home of an individual convicted of abusing a Native woman creates a serious threat that the Native woman—or her children—will be killed,” says Wendy Schlater, Board member of the NIWRC.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Voisine v. United States on February 29, 2016.

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