New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a federal law banning domestic violence abusers from having a gun, noting that it shows a “glimmer of hope” from the justices.
Hochul joined MSNBC’s Alex Witt Friday to discuss the decision from the high court and her efforts to disarm abusers in New York state.
Witt asked Hochul if she was surprised that the justices upheld the law, given the same conservative justices overturned other gun-related measures.
“Indeed, I was,” Hochul responded, later adding that she “wasn’t real optimistic about how they would feel about a case that logically, I’ll admit, most Americans would say, ‘Why would domestic abusers be able to have a gun?’”
Hochul continued, noting that before, she “wasn’t sure” how the Supreme Court would weigh the case, but thinks “survivors across America are breathing a sigh of relief.
“And hopefully, we can see a different shift in the Supreme Court in other decisions as well, as they realize how out of step they are with keeping Americans safe,” she said.
Hochul noted that her mother grew up in a household that was abusive, so the issue has been “deeply personal” for her. Hochul, the state’s first female governor, said she’s “had real results” with gun legislation.
“Over 30,000 guns are now out of the hands of potential abusers or assailants or murderers as a result of what we’re doing here in New York,” she said.
Hochul continued, arguing that the Supreme Court’s decision in the case is “a little bit of glimmer of hope from the Supreme Court and hopefully this telegraph a shift in their attitudes about the rights of people to be safe.”
The Supreme Court’s decision rules in favor of President Biden’s Justice Department, which appealed to the high court to defend the statute after a lower court ruled that it was unconstitutional.
The original case was centered around Zackey Rahimi, who had been placed under a restraining order after he dragged his girlfriend, who is the mother to his child, into a parking lot an attempted to shoot a witness. Rahimi later participated in five shootings and was indicted on the gun charge after police found two in his home.