In a supplemental letter brief submitted Wednesday, the U.S. Government contends that “illegal aliens” do not have Second Amendment rights.
The supplemental letter brief was submitted in response to a “directive to address the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Rahimi (2024).”
On June 21, 2024, Breitbart News reported that the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) handed down an 8-1 decision in Rahimi, upholding a federal ban on gun ownership for subjects of domestic violence restraining orders.
When Rahimi was handed down, CNN quoted Chief Justice John Roberts indicating he and seven of his colleagues had “no trouble” coming together on the decision.
Writing for the majority, Roberts said, “Our tradition of firearm regulation allows the government to disarm individuals who present a credible threat to the physical safety of others.”
In the July 31, 2024, supplemental letter brief submitted by the DOJ, the U.S. Government contends that the prohibitions related to “illegal aliens” and firearms, contained in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(A), remain constitutional:
Rahimi did not undermine this Court’s prior holding that 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(A) is constitutional under the Second Amendment. See Portillo-Munoz… In Portillo-Munoz, this Court determined that the protections contained in the Second Amendment do not extend to aliens illegally present in the United States. …This Court explained that “‘the people’ protected by the … Second Amendment … refers to a class of persons who are part of a national community or who have otherwise developed sufficient connection with this country to be considered part of that community.”
The United States Government noted:
This Court concluded that Heller invalidated the defendant’s attempt to extend the protections of the Second Amendment to illegal aliens who are not citizens or members of the political community. Portillo-Munoz, 643 F.3d at 440. As this Court stated, “aliens who enter or remain in this country illegally and without authorization are not Americans as that word is commonly understood.” … Indeed, this Court noted that “the Supreme Court has long held that Congress has the authority to make laws governing the conduct of aliens that would be unconstitutional if made to apply to citizens.”
On the topic of “illegal aliens” and firearms, the U.S. Government observed: “Nothing in Rahimi undermines this Court’s reasoning. To the contrary, the Supreme Court in Rahimi emphasized what its prior precedents observed: the Second Amendment extends to ‘ordinary citizens.’”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.