Supreme Court says domestic violence perpetrators can lose their gun ownership rights

The judges ruled 6-2 in a vote

More than half of women who are murdered by guns are victims of domestic violence (Getty)

The supreme court has ruled that anyone convicted of a domestic violence “misdemeanor” can be banned from owning or purchasing a gun.

Previous law stated that only those convicted of intentional abuse would be banned from owning weapons, but a "reckless" assault could be pardoned.

The judges voted 6-2 on the ruling, with Justice Elena Kagan opining: "The question presented here is whether misdemeanor assault convictions for reckless (as contrasted to knowing or intentional) conduct trigger the statutory firearms ban. We hold that they do."

The ruling came about after two plaintiffs, Stephen Voisine and William Armstrong of Maine, argued in the supreme court that their cases of domestic violence should not prevent them from owning a gun.

They had pleaded guilty in state court to assault charges after slapping or shoving their intimate partners and were later found to own weapons. Both men had argued the weapons ban should not apply to them as they were charged for “reckless conduct” and not intentional abuse.

Voisine v. United States has been propelled into the spotlight in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando, when a lone gunman burst into a gay nightclub and killed 49 people.

The Republican-led senate struck down two proposals to ban assault weapons and to ban anyone on the FBI watch list from purchasing guns, but the Supreme Court brought some relief for anti-gun campaigners this week in the case of domestic violence.

The case also drew attention as one of the supreme court judges and a staunch advocate of the Second Amendment, Justice Clarence Thomas, asked the mens’ lawyer - the first time he had asked a question from the bench in 10 years - whether there was any other misdemeanor conviction that could cause someone to lose “a constitutional right”.

He was one of the two judges to oppose the law.

The New England Learning Center for Women in Transition called the ruling “a step in the right direction”.

It is estimated that around five women per day are shot to death by current or former intimate partners. Perpetrators could often circumvent laws by buying weapons online and avoid background checks.

According to research from Everytown, a guns safety campaign, at least 52 per cent of American women murdered with guns are killed by intimate partners or family members.