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ALEXBRANDON—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS An American flag flies in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington in 2012. BySamHananel The Associated Press WASHINGTON A divided Supreme Court sided with gun control groups and the Obama administra- tion Monday, ruling that the federal government can strictly enforce laws that ban a "straw" pur- chaser from buying a gun for someone else. The justices ruled 5-4 that the law applied to a Virginia man who bought a gun with the intention of transferring it to his un- cle in Pennsylvania — even though the uncle is not pro- hibited from owning fire- arms. The decision split the court along familiar ideo- logical lines, though it has no direct bearing on the Second Amendment right to own guns. It settles a split among appeals courts over federal gun laws intended to prevent sham buyers from obtaining guns for the sole purpose of giving them to another person. The laws were part of Congress' ef- fort to make sure firearms did not get into the hands of unlawful recipients. Writing for the majority, Justice Elena Kagan said the federal government's elaborate system of back- ground checks and record- keeping requirements help law enforcement investigate crimes by tracing guns to their buyers. Those provi- sions would mean little, she said, if a would-be gun buyer could evade them by simply getting another per- son to buy the gun and fill out the paperwork. "Putting true numbskulls to one side, anyone purchas- ing a gun for criminal pur- poses would avoid leaving a paper trail by the simple expedient of hiring a straw," Kagan said. Her opinion was joined by Justice Anthony Ken- nedy, who is often consid- ered the court's swing vote, as well as liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ste- phen Breyer and Sonia So- tomayor. In dissent, Justice Anto- nin Scalia said the language of the law does not support making it a crime for one lawful gun owner to buy a gun for another lawful gun owner. He was joined by the court's other conservatives — Chief Justice John Rob- erts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. The case began after Bruce James Abramski, Jr. bought a Glock 19 handgun in Collinsville, Virginia, in 2009 and later transferred it to his uncle in Easton, Pennsylvania. Abramski, a former police officer, had assured the Virginia dealer he was the "actual buyer" of the weapon even though he had already offered to buy the gun for his uncle using his expired police identifi- cation to get a discount. Abramski purchased the gun three days after his uncle had written him a check for $400 with "Glock 19 handgun" written in the memo line. During the transaction, Abramski an- swered "yes" on a federal form asking "Are you the actual transferee buyer of the firearm(s) listed on this form? Warning: You are not the actual buyer if you are acquiring the firearm(s) on behalf of another per- son. If you are not the ac- tual buyer, the dealer can- not transfer the firearm(s) to you." Police later arrested Abramski after they thought he was involved in a bank robbery in Rocky Mount, Virginia. No charges were ever filed on the bank rob- bery, but officials charged him with making false statements about the pur- chase of the gun. A federal district judge rejected Abramski's ar- gument that he was not a straw purchaser because his uncle was eligible to buy firearms, and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals af- firmed. The Obama administra- tion had argued that ac- cepting Abramski's defense would impair the ability of law enforcement officials to trace firearms involved in crimes and keep weap- ons away from people who are not eligible to buy them. "This is a very big and very positive decision that will save lives by keep- ing guns out of the hands of dangerous people," said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The National Rifle As- sociation sided with Abramski, asserting that the government wrongly interpreted the law and improperly expanded the scope of gun regulations. Twenty-six states also sub- mitted a brief supporting Abramski's view of the law, while nine states and Wash- ington, D.C., filed papers bolstering the Obama ad- ministration. Supreme Court rules on 'straw purchaser' gun law SCOTUS By Julie Pace The Associated Press WASHINGTON After years of pressure from gay rights groups, President Barack Obama plans to sign an ex- ecutive order banning fed- eral contractors from dis- criminating against em- ployees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, the White House said Monday. While Obama lacks the authority to extend that protection to all Americans, the order being drafted by the White House would im- pact about 14 million work- ers whose employers or states currently do not ban workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisex- ual and transgender indi- viduals. The scope of the measure was tabulated by the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School, which studies sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy. The president has re- sisted signing the order in hopes Congress would pass a broader non-discrimina- tion measure that would ap- ply to nearly all employers. While the Senate passed the legislation last year, the measure has languished in the Republican-led House and there is little sign that lawmakers will take it up in an election year. "We've been waiting for quite a few months now for the House to take action and unfortunately there are no particularly strong indications that Congress is prepared to act on this," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. The White House's an- nouncement was a signifi- cant victory for gay rights advocates, who widely praised Obama's decision. "By issuing an execu- tive order prohibiting fed- eral contractors from dis- criminating against LGBT people, the president will not only create fairer work- places across the country, he will demonstrate to Con- gress that adopting federal employment protections for LGBT people is good pol- icy and good for business," said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Cam- paign. Officials would not say when Obama would sign the order or why the ad- ministration was taking the unusual step of previewing his plans for issuing such a measure. The announcement comes a day before Obama attends the Democratic Na- tional Committee's annual gay and lesbian fundraiser in New York. While the pres- ident has widespread po- litical support among the LGBT community, advo- cates have become increas- ingly irritated with the pres- ident's reluctance to move forward with the order. T heir f r ustrat ion mounted earlier this year when Obama responded to gridlock on Capitol Hill by touting plans to take exec- utive actions on issues that Congress would not act on. That included signing exec- utive orders that raise the minimum wage for federal contractors and expanding the number of contractors who would be eligible for overtime pay. CIVIL RIGHTS Obama to sign executive order extending LGBT protections Paid Advertisement TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 3 B