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Eyeing an important case by the U.S. Supreme Court, a Second Amendment advocate says a violent criminal defendant is testing the limits of a person\u2019s constitutional rights even when facing serious charges from a history of violent behavior.<\/p>\n
The high court has agreed to hear the case of Zackey Rahimi, a Texas man and alleged drug dealer whose violent past may send him to prison for a long time.<\/p>\n
At the same time he is facing several serious state charges, including aggravated assault with a firearm, the defendant is challenging a 2022 federal conviction. After police officers found two handguns in his home, when he was prohibited from owning a gun, Rahimi was sentenced to six years in federal prison for violating a federal law that prohibits Americans from possessing a firearm while they are the subject of a restraining order.<\/p>\n
The defendant pleaded guilty to the federal charge but he is now arguing he is innocent after a SCOTUS ruling struck down New York\u2019s stringent gun law last year.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, a federal appeals court in Louisiana sided with Rahimi and threw out his conviction.<\/p>\n
Luis Valdez, a national spokesman for Gun Owners of America, tells AFN the gun rights group is not defending Rahimi\u2019s criminal record but says GOA sees a \u201cgood case\u201d that protects every person’s rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe individual himself is no way a good plaintiff,\u201d Valdez observes, \u201cbut that doesn’t mean that Second Amendment rights don’t apply to the plaintiff himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahimi\u2019s arrest records and charges describe a hot-headed thug who allegedly shot at other drivers on the road more than once, according to a story by the liberal Huffington Post. He allegedly shot in air outside a Whataburger when a credit card got declined.<\/p>\n
Rahimi deserves to sit in a jail cell for his other crimes if he is guilty, Valdez says, but a ruling from the Supreme Court might clarify the Second Amendment rights of Americans not convicted of a crime.<\/p>\n
From a more practical standpoint, Valdez says the charges against Rahimi demonstrate a reality that gun-bannning advocates keep ignoring.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has continually found ways to get around gun laws and acquire firearms for the purpose of shooting at people and threatening others,\u201d Valdez says. \u201cHe’s a perfect example of why gun laws do nothing to stop bad guys and criminal behavior.”<\/p>\n