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Article: The imprecise draftsmanship of the Lautenberg Amendment and the resulting problems for the judiciary.
- Article from:
- Columbia Journal of Gender and Law
- Article date:
- September 22, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Columbia Journal of Gender and Law. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In 1996, Congress passed the Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban ("Lautenberg Amendment"), a controversial amendment to the Gun Control Act (1) that makes it unlawful for individuals previously convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense to possess a firearm. (2) Legislative history shows that Congress intended to address state criminal laws that prosecute domestic violence as only a misdemeanor, which allows offenders to continue to possess firearms. (3)
Statutory interpretation is the only remaining avenue to challenge the Lautenberg Amendment and the courts' improper interpretation of its meaning. In the rush of the legislative process, Congress hastily ...