BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE by the CRIME PREVENTION RESEARCH CENTER in United States v. ZACKEY RAHIMI

44 Pages Posted: 8 Oct 2023

See all articles by John R. Lott

John R. Lott

Crime Prevention Research Center

Carlisle E. Moody

College of William and Mary - Department of Economics; Crime Prevention Research Center

Date Written: October 4, 2023

Abstract

If people who are subject to a civil restraining order are dangerous, prohibiting them from possessing firearms could save lives. We have estimated the enhancement effect of federal law 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) using a panel of fifty states over 38 years. The results are remarkably robust. We find that 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) has no statistically significant beneficial impact on domestic murder, domestic femicide, domestic gun murder, or domestic gun femicide. Additional penalties for illegally obtaining a gun or violating a protective order are unlikely to provide marginal deterrence. In the past, some courts have traded off protection of rights versus prevention of crime. The debate in the past has focused on violent versus non-violent felons. Presumably, on average, individuals going through a civil process are less likely to engage in crime with a firearm than those convicted of a felony. Even when hearings occur, the lower standard of proof in civil matters means a higher probability of false positives and thus may inadvertently disarm innocent people. The statute not only fails to withstand Constitutional analysis, it fails to accomplish its policy goal. Therefore, we urge this Court to affirm the decision below.

Keywords: Domestic Violence Protection order

JEL Classification: K14

Suggested Citation

Lott, John R. and Moody, Carlisle E., BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE by the CRIME PREVENTION RESEARCH CENTER in United States v. ZACKEY RAHIMI (October 4, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4592611 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4592611

John R. Lott (Contact Author)

Crime Prevention Research Center ( email )

PO Box 2293
1100 W Kent Ave
Missoula, MT 59801
United States

Carlisle E. Moody

College of William and Mary - Department of Economics ( email )

Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
United States
757-221-2373 (Phone)
757-221-1175 (Fax)

Crime Prevention Research Center ( email )

Missoula, MT
United States

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