livingston
20×102mm Vulcan
SCOTUS decided Rehaif v. United States Friday — a case about how federal gun laws should be applied to immigrants unlawfully on American soil. The Court held 7 to 2 in favor of Hamid Rehaif, an immigrant from the United Arab Emirates who overstayed a student visa and was caught illegally possessing a handgun. There was some harsh disagreement among the justices, but not over the topics you might expect; neither immigration nor gun control was discussed at any length. While we’re on the topic of the unexpected, the dissenters who would have construed the gun laws in a manner to make them harsher were two staunch conservatives.
Another portion of the statute, §924(a)(2), adds that anyone who “knowingly violates” §922(g)shall be fined or imprisoned for up to ten years. The Supreme Court dealt with the question of exactly what “knowingly” means. Would a person need to know they have a gun and know that they fall into one of those categories? Or is it enough that they know they possess a gun? The answer to that question of what seems like semantics was of the utmost importance to Hamid Rehaif.
Rehaif entered the United States on a nonimmigrant student visa to attend college. Rehaif attended college, but flunked out and was dismissed by the university. Later, he visited a firing range for target practice. He was later arrested, charged, and convicted with violating of §922(g) and §924(a)(2), and was sentenced to eighteen months in prison.
SCOTUS Just Made It Harder To Prosecute Immigrants For Gun Crimes
Another portion of the statute, §924(a)(2), adds that anyone who “knowingly violates” §922(g)shall be fined or imprisoned for up to ten years. The Supreme Court dealt with the question of exactly what “knowingly” means. Would a person need to know they have a gun and know that they fall into one of those categories? Or is it enough that they know they possess a gun? The answer to that question of what seems like semantics was of the utmost importance to Hamid Rehaif.
Rehaif entered the United States on a nonimmigrant student visa to attend college. Rehaif attended college, but flunked out and was dismissed by the university. Later, he visited a firing range for target practice. He was later arrested, charged, and convicted with violating of §922(g) and §924(a)(2), and was sentenced to eighteen months in prison.
SCOTUS Just Made It Harder To Prosecute Immigrants For Gun Crimes
