WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the broad reach of a federal law that bans people convicted of domestic violence from owning guns.

The justices rejected arguments from two Maine men that the law covers only intentional acts of abuse and not those committed in the heat of an argument.

The justices reviewed lower court rulings that upheld convictions against Stephen Voisine of Lewiston and William Armstrong III of New Vineyard for owning guns even after Voisine was convicted of slapping his girlfriend and Armstrong was convicted of hitting his wife.

Voisine’s gun ownership came to light after an anonymous report that he shot a bald eagle.

Federal law bars a person convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence involving the use of physical force or a deadly weapon from possessing firearms. Voisine and Armstrong argued that Maine’s law and their guilty pleas are too vague to bar them from gun ownership.

Efforts to reach Voisine and Armstrong on Monday were not successful.

The dispute drew interest from domestic abuse victim advocates who say the law applies to reckless behavior as well as intentional misconduct.

Gun rights groups argued that the men should not lose their constitutional right to bear arms because of misdemeanor abuse convictions.

A federal appeals court ruled against the men who took the case to the Supreme Court.

In its decision to uphold lower-court rulings against Voisine and Armstrong, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the First District noted there is a “sobering” connection between domestic violence and homicide and the “manifest purpose” of the Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968 to ban those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from possessing firearms was to remedy the “potentially deadly combination” of “firearms and domestic strife.”

Stephen Voisine

In March 2011, after an investigation by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Agency, Voisine was charged with possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence assault and killing a bald eagle.

According to court records, Voisine was convicted in 2003 and 2005 of assaulting a woman with whom he was in a domestic relationship. As part of his conviction, he was banned from having guns.

In 2009, Voisine was arrested by federal officials and charged with the federal misdemeanor crime of killing a bald eagle. According to court records, when conducting a background check, law enforcement officers discovered the 2003 misdemeanor assault. Voisine had already turned over his Remington .30-06 caliber rifle, which led to the additional charge of possession of a firearm.

He was convicted and sentenced to serve a year and a day in prison, followed by two years of unsupervised release. He was also fined $125.

William Armstrong III

In May 2010, Armstrong of New Vineyard was indicted by a U.S. District Court for a charge of possession of a firearm by a person convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence. During the investigation, police seized seven firearms, including three rifles, three shotguns, a .22 caliber revolver and more than 1,700 rounds of ammunition.

According to court records, Armstrong was convicted of assaulting his wife in 1992, 2002 and again in 2008. In the 2008 case, he pushed and slapped his wife after they got into an argument about baking cookies.

In 2010, when Maine State Police searched the family home for drug paraphernalia and marijuana, they discovered six guns and ammunition.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was called to execute a search warrant but found only ammunition.

According to court records, Armstrong’s wife arranged for a family friend to remove the guns. ATF officials later found the guns at the friend’s house.

In 2012, Armstrong pleaded guilty to the gun possession charge and was sentenced to serve three years of probation and fined $2,600.

Safe Voices, an Auburn organization that advocates for domestic violence victims, is pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision, Executive Director Elise Johansen said Monday.

“The presence of a firearm in domestic violence situations increases the chance of homicide by 500 percent, and women are more likely to be murdered by a firearm than by all other means combined,” Johansen said in a prepared statement.

Maine has the ninth-highest rate of women murdered by men in single offender/single victim incidents, she said. “We hope that the verdict will assist in reducing these staggering statistics, and assert protections for all victims of domestic violence by upholding a broad reading” of laws prohibiting firearm ownership by those convicted of domestic violence.

Tom Franklin, president of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, said it’s highly significant that the court didn’t accept the, “I didn’t mean to really hurt her,” argument, and recognized domestic violence is a major factor in the country’s gun problem.

“Maine long has been known for its common sense and its independence,” Franklin said. “It is a compliment to Maine lawmakers and voters that Maine law was the basis for this decision.”

Maine guides, Maine hunters and Maine gun owners are respected nationally for their understanding that guns belong in responsible hands only, Franklin said, and that people who act irresponsibly should not own them.

“Taking away the guns of the abuser at the first conviction very clearly will save lives,” he said.  

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