Examining the Lautenberg Amendment in the civilian and military contexts: congressional overreaching, statutory vagueness, ex post facto violations, and implementational flaws.(domestic violence gun control law)

INTRODUCTION

Imagine a court reducing a domestic violence felony to a misdemeanor because the judge does not want to give a "noncriminal" (1) male a felony conviction merely for attacking his wife. (2) Imagine further that as a result of this judicial reluctance, the court sentences the defendant to serve his time only on weekends. The defendant is then released. Subsequently, he goes home and attacks his wife again. This time he attacks her with a gun. This time he kills her. Now imagine this man is a police officer or soldier who has sworn an oath to protect you, (3) or perhaps a next door neighbor, or a stranger you pass on the street.

When Congress passed the Lautenberg Amendment (4) to the Gun Control Act of 1968 ("Lautenberg Amendment" or "the Amendment") in September 30, 1996, it was with the express purpose of reducing scenarios like this one, of preventing that police officer, soldier, neighbor, or stranger from committing gun-related domestic violence. (5)

The Lautenberg Amendment states that:

 
   it shall be unlawful for any person ... who has been convicted in any court 
   of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, to ship or transport in 
   interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any 
   firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has 
   been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. (6) 

Citing national domestic violence statistics including the percentage of domestic violence homicides involving firearms each year, (7) Senator Lautenberg intended to close a dangerous loophole in the Gun Control Act enabling domestic violence offenders to evade an additional felony conviction for gun possession by getting domestic violence felony charges reduced to misdemeanors. (8) Senator Lautenberg sought to secure the same protection for the family of a domestic violence misdemeanant as was theoretically provided the family of a domestic violence felon through existing law. (9) The Lautenberg Amendment, therefore, subjects domestic violence misdemeanants to the same restrictions (10) faced by prior convicted felons, making it a felony for domestic violence misdemeanants to ship, transport, or possess a weapon in or affecting interstate commerce. (11)

However, while the Lautenberg Amendment mirrors the Gun Control Act in making gun possession a felony, its scope is broader. The Lautenberg Amendment precludes the Gun Control Act's public interest exception (12) exempting governmental agencies from the Gun Control Act. (13) Therefore, the Amendment applies to, and has great potential to impact both police and the military. (14)