Fifth Circuit Rehears Challenge to Felon Gun Ban After Thomas Questions Congress' Power
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 22
Fifth Circuit Rehears Challenge to Felon Gun Ban After Thomas Questions Congress' Power
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 22
Summary
The full Fifth Circuit voted Monday to rehear United States v. Squire, reopening a case that could test whether Congress had Commerce Clause authority to criminalize gun possession by convicted felons under Section 922(g).
Clarence Thomas spurred the shift in a Feb. 20 concurrence, arguing courts should revisit the law because Congress may regulate interstate gun sales, not mere possession of items that once crossed state lines.
Curtis Squire was charged after police found a handgun in his New Orleans home during a search; a three-judge panel had rejected his narrower Second Amendment challenge in June before the case broadened.
Judge Stephen Higginson dissented from rehearing, warning that striking down the statute would break with settled Commerce Clause precedent and could unsettle federal bans involving explosives, child pornography and biological weapons.
Because Section 922(g) is among the federal government's most-used gun laws, any ruling against it could reshape federal criminal enforcement and the balance between state police powers and congressional authority.
Could a court ruling on a single gun law unravel decades of other established federal powers?
Will courts soon decide which felons are dangerous enough to be disarmed, and which are not?
United States v. Squire: Fifth Circuit’s En Banc Rehearing Threatens Federal Felon Gun Ban Under Commerce Clause
Overview
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has decided to rehear en banc the case of United States v. Squire, vacating its earlier panel opinion and setting a new schedule for arguments. This move follows Justice Clarence Thomas’s recent questioning of Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause to criminalize simple gun possession that does not involve interstate commerce. The Fifth Circuit’s decision signals a willingness to address a major constitutional issue, with the potential to reshape federal criminal law and gun regulation nationwide if the court finds limits on Congress’s authority in this area.