Supreme Court Gun Ban Case Heard, Could Set Precedent for Gun Control
On Tuesday the Supreme Court will hear a case in which a Tennessee man's misdemeanor domestic assault plea could ban him from owning a gun.
The case involves the appeal of James Castleman, who pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor domestic assault in 2001. He was then charged in 2009 with illegal possession of a firearm by a person convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, but a federal judge threw those charges out.
Federal law prohibits a person convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence involving physical force or a deadly weapon from possessing a firearm. The judge said that the Tennessee misdemeanor domestic assault conviction does not require that physical force be used meaning the federal ban could is non-applicable.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
While this is a single case, the topic of gun control as been hotly debated, given the number of mass casualty events that seem to happen with increasing frequency in America. There have been numerous groups including evangelical Christian leaders who have expressed their support for stricter gun regulations.
In a poll conducted by the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), 73 percent of church leaders agreed that there needs to be stricter gun regulations.
"Evangelicals are pro-life and deeply grieve when any weapons are used to take innocent lives," said Leith Anderson, President of the NAE. "The evangelical leaders who responded to the NAE survey support the Second Amendment right to bear arms but also want our laws to prevent the slaughter of children."
The Evangelical Leaders Survey is a monthly non-scientific poll of the NAE Board of Directors, for which the organization says it does not release raw data.
"They include sin in our society, violent video games, political polarization, gun availability, mental illness and many more," NAE's president commented. "There are many reasons and some validity to most of them. Vice President Biden is suggesting that an immediate and major research effort seek to find primary causes so that we can tackle the problem. Until that research is reported we should engage in a robust conversation about the causes and do what we can to stop the violence."
