Research from Saul Cornell, the Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History at Fordham, is included in the scholarship published Oct. 21 in the Fordham Urban Law Journal  ahead of the scheduled oral arguments in United States v. Rahimi on Nov. 7. In the case, the court will decide whether a 30-year-old law banning firearms for people subject to domestic violence restraining orders violates the Second Amendment on its face.

Just over a year ago, the Supreme Court ruled in another case (NYSRPA v. Bruen) that gun regulations must reflect the ways such laws were applied at the time of the Second Amendment, which led the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the ban on domestic abusers.

“The Fifth Circuit said, well, domestic violence has been around for a long time. They didn’t take away people’s guns. Therefore, you can’t take away people’s guns.” 

But Cornell argued there is a good reason why guns weren’t taken away in the 18th Century. “Although domestic violence is not new, at the time of the Second Amendment, domestic violence perpetrated with guns was just not an issue, because guns took too long to load and were not a good choice for impulsive acts of violence.” 

“There’s a lot of complicated problems with how you would even begin to in good faith apply their method,” Cornell said. “There’s a huge opening for some kind of scholarship to give the court some direction,” Cornell said.

The published work includes statistical analyses, historical analyses such as Cornell’s, and descriptions of the ramifications of different legal decisions from some of today’s most influential experts in the fields of gun violence, public health, gun regulation, and the Second Amendment. These scholars author amicus briefs, which judges rely on for insight, and serve as expert witnesses in court.

The Fordham Urban Law Journal’s editor-in-chief, Joseph Gomez, said he expects their work to be used as source material when the justices write their opinions in Rahimi. “These scholars will be the most relevant source of expertise,” he said.

The field of weapons and gun law historians is small, and Cornell is in high demand as an expert witness in firearms regulation cases across the country. He said he currently is involved in 20 active cases ranging from extreme risk protection order decisions to whether people applying to be foster parents should have to lock up their weapons.

Confusion Over Bruen

“I’ve been working on gun regulation and the Second Amendment now since 1999,” said Cornell. “And because the Supreme Court last year issued this opinion that has created chaos in the lower courts, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association Inc. versus Bruen, it was clear to me and lots of people I talked to that since they changed the framework for evaluating laws, nobody knows how to implement the framework.”

Before the Bruen decision in 2022, lower courts looked to both historical tradition of gun regulation and “important government interest,” such as public safety considerations, he said. But in the Bruen decision, the Supreme Court said public safety can only be considered if there were comparable laws at the time of the Second Amendment that took public safety into account. Cornell said this “basically means you either have to find an analogous law, or at least a tradition, that seems to resemble the law in question today. And the big problem is life was very different in the 18th Century.”

Lower courts must rely on the Supreme Court’s guidance when interpreting gun laws. The pending Rahimi case provides the court with an opportunity to clarify how lower courts should apply the new framework laid out in Bruen, according to Kelly Roskam, J.D., the director of law and policy at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, who participated in the scholarship as well as the 2023 Cooper-Walsh Colloquium on “Public Health, History, and the Future of Gun Regulation After Bruen” that Cornell helped organize at the Fordham School of Law on Oct. 13.

The Fordham Urban Law Journal, Northwell Health Center for Gun Violence Prevention, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Gun Violence Solutions co-hosted the event.

‘Not Usually How We Do Things’

Cornell said, “I know a lot of people in the gun violence prevention community, and many of them were concerned that if history is what’s going to drive [the decision], does that mean all this great research we do about what actually is the problem and what is the solution is now irrelevant? It would be kind of crazy that they would just rely on what was known back then. I mean, that’s usually not how we do things.”

The Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision next June.

“At some point, I called up my mom and said, ‘There’s got to be a way to pay it forward as a job,’” she said.

After some research, Borghard found her calling in social work and then found Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service. She earned her master’s in social work last year, and today she works as a clinician serving domestic violence survivors.

But she still volunteers practically every day giving out clothing and toiletries to the homeless. She said she never leaves home without something to give away, most of it stashed in a backpack that she calls her “Mary Poppins bag.”

Facing Uncertainty

Several years back, Borghard was in need of help herself. She was in a car accident while in high school, and she experienced repeated seizures and short-term memory loss. Eventually, she underwent brain surgery to install a NeuroPace, which she described as a “pacemaker for the brain.” All the while, her parents, classmates, high school teachers, and college professors helped see her through her recovery. To her mind they paid it forward; now it was her turn.

Much to the consternation of her neurologist, Borghard traveled overseas through an exchange program to teach inner city students living on the outskirts of Marseille, France.

“I said, ‘Isn’t this what the [neurological]  device is for? I’m going to live my life and make a difference,’” she said.

Finding Purpose

When she returned to New York City and began classes at Fordham, she joined the Guardian Angels, a volunteer anti-crime activist group. Through the group, she began to reach out to the many homeless men and women throughout the city, offering donated clothes, toiletries, and conversation. “Most homeless people just want someone to recognize them and talk to them.”

Although her friends were concerned about her safety, she said that as a trained social worker she understands how to mitigate risk. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to be a member of the Guardian Angels. “They’ve got my back,” she said.

She said the same was true of her Fordham professors. “They were willing to let me think outside the box,” she said. “They understood that as a social worker you’re dealing with human beings; not just a textbook case.”

On Feb. 10, several Guardian Angels and a few Fordham folks joined Borghard for a clothing drive at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus. The group collected gloves, hats, coats, and toiletries. To organize the event, Borghard teamed up with FCLC sophomore Cat Fernando, who distributes socks to the homeless.

“They are thrilled to get basics, like lotion,” said Borghard. “These are items we take for granted, perhaps because our skin isn’t exposed to the elements all the time.”

Sharing a Memory

Although she says she doesn’t volunteer to make herself feel good, Borghard recalled a moment of giving that warmed her heart. She recently lost her father to cancer. Her mother suggested that she distribute her father’s clothes among the homeless men that she’d come to know by name.

“That felt good for my mom, and it felt pretty good for me, too,” she said. “He’d owned some really nice things.”

She gave one man her father’s sweater, and it put a big smile on his face.

“When I saw that, I got emotional and explained why his smile meant so much,” she said. “He looked at me and said, ‘I am going to do it honor.’”

Borghard wishes that everyone could share in the volunteer experience. It would change perceptions, she said.

“Just because someone doesn’t fit your perfect ideal—maybe they are not dressed well or don’t smell great—they’re still a human being. You have to ask yourself, ‘How am I going to treat them?’”

The two-day event will feature more than 100 presenters and performers taking a collective stand against sexual violence of all kinds, including dating violence, campus sexual assault, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, and trafficking.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to sponsor another effort toward prevention of and education about sexual violence,” said Michele Burris, associate vice president of student affairs.

“Hosting the summit is also recognition from Take Back The Night of the strong work we’re doing in the area of sexual assault and misconduct.”

The aim of the summit—which will convene organizations and leaders in fields including education, business, counseling, healthcare, military, politics, and entertainment—is to unite diverse perspectives and backgrounds to address the problem, starting with developing a common vocabulary and understanding of sexual violence.

Keynote speakers include Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International; Katie Koestner, founder of Take Back The Night, who appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine 25 years ago as the first college student to speak out as a the victim of date rape; and Scott Berkowitz, president and founder of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).

Participants will learn the laws and policies related to sexual violence, social media techniques for campaigns and fundraising, how to mobilize communities, and how to host vigils, speak-outs, and other events to support survivors. A “Going NOISY Celebrity SoundOff” in Fordham Prep’s Leonard Theatre will feature performances by musicians, actors, and other artists.

In addition, more than a dozen trauma-informed yoga instructors will kick off the second day of the summit with “Yoga for Strength and Healing” on Edwards Parade.

Fordham’s Stand Against Sexual Violence

The collaboration between Fordham and Take Back The Night Foundation has grown out of the University’s ongoing work to combat sexual misconduct, Burris said. Last year, Fordham was selected as one of 10 Points of Light around the country during the national observance of Take Back The Night—an event featuring survivor stories, candlelight vigils, and other effort to raise awareness about sexual assault.

The previous year, Fordham hosted a conference on campus sexual misconduct policies to train both Fordham and non-Fordham educators on how to deal with sexual misconduct.

“We are constantly working to educate students as well as faculty and staff when it comes to preventing sexual assault, reporting violence, and what to do when you see something or you yourself experience something like this,” Burris said.

A key aspect of this work, said Burris, is to regularly update the University’s policies and procedures to comply with evolving state and federal laws. As part of this structure, Campus Ministry and Counseling and Psychological Services serve as confidential reporting centers for anyone who experiences violence of any kind. The Health Center has several trained sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) on staff to offer medical support and resources to victims of assault.

Most importantly, Burris said, an administrative support person is assigned to every reported case of sexual misconduct. The point persons—one for the victim and one for the accuser—help guide each party involved through the process.

“The day the person says something, there is an administrator assigned to them to help them understand how the process works and how to report it, to go with them to every meeting, to connect them with counseling and health services, and to work with the academic deans in case they need to miss classes,” Burris said.

“There is a team of people in place to help the student get through this. That’s the number one thing—the student needs to feel supported throughout.”

For more information and to register for the International Summit to End Sexual Violence, visit the official website.

“He was yelling into the phone, ‘Get that woman home! How dare you—she belongs with her husband! Those children belong with their father!” MacNichol said of the experience that launched her 30-year career combating domestic violence.

“I was really shaken. I call that my baptism by fire. It was a call to make it my ministry to figure out how faith, theology, and religious communities intersect with this terrible problem.”

MacNichol, PhD, the co-executive director of CONNECT, a New-York-based nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing interpersonal violence and promoting gender justice, was the keynote speaker at the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education’s fourth annual pastoral counseling conference on May 6.

The daylong conference, “Spiritual Geographies of Domestic Violence,” discussed the stark realities of interpersonal violence and the ways faith communities can better serve survivors.

Intimate partner violence and domestic violence is defined as any actual or threatened physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, verbal, spiritual, or economic abuse that impairs one’s ability to function in a “self-determining or healthy way,” said MacNichol. Abuse is often coercive and recurrent, and the intent is for the abuser to maintain power and control.

Faith-based and religious communities could be invaluable resources for women, men, and children in crisis, but lack of education and unwillingness to confront these issues cause these groups to mishandle abusive situations, MacNichol said.

“The bible is full of family violence,” said MacNichol, who was recently named one of New York’s New Abolitionists. “We need to start asking ourselves what in our theologies promotes domestic violence? What in our interpretations of scripture and communal practices allow us to turn a blind eye to, or even rationalize and directly participate in, domestic violence?”

Many people judge the severity of abuse by whether or not the victims are physically injured, but MacNichol stressed that all types of abuse can cause lasting harm. The stress of nonphysical abuse can have dire impacts on victims’ overall health. Moreover, because the damage is not visible, victims are more likely to question whether the situation is, in fact, abusive.

“There has never been a domestic violence survivor that hasn’t said to me that the emotional abuse was worse than the physical,” she said. “You can see bruises, and they heal. But you can’t see spiritual and emotional wounds, and these take a long time to heal.”

We need to become more aware and less tolerant of invisible abuses, MacNichol said, or else a wide swath violence will remain undetected and unresolved. Faith communities have the ability—and the responsibility, she said—both to lead these conversations and to reduce inflicting further harm on victims (for instance, working to save an abusive marriage at all costs, rather than helping an abused spouse who is trying to escape).

“When you’re preaching on Sunday, think about how it might sound to someone who is struggling with violence,” MacNichol said. “We have to think about [how we]can create safe spaces where people can come for help… where we can accompany them through the maze of self-doubt and shame.”

The conference also featured Jill Snodgrass, PhD, an assistant professor of pastoral counseling at Loyola University Maryland and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Her talk, “The Prison Paradox: Liberated from Abuse Behind Bars,” detailed the pervasiveness of interpersonal violence and trauma histories among women in prison and the irony that these women find safety only after landing behind bars.

Their marriage proved much shorter, though.

They’d had two children together prior to the time they married, and a third arrived not long after their wedding. It was bad enough that Rosemary’s husband did not take care of the children, made her quit every job she took on, and refused to let her take classes or have other friendships. But he also signed up for numerous credits cards and plunged the couple into debt.

The final straw came when he fathered a child outside of the marriage—even as he was accusing Rosemary of infidelity and verbally abusing her for wearing short skirts.

In 2009, they separated. For Rosemary, divorce was too costly to undertake. So she turned to the Sanctuary for Families’ Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services, for a no contest divorce.

Aiding her was a team of law students from Fordham Law School’s Domestic Violence Action Center (DVAC).

Each year Fordham Law sends five teams of students to the center to interview clients, such as Rosemary, and help them submit critical documents to court as part of the Uncontested Divorce Project.

It’s the kind of messy, unpredictable, face-to-face work with clients that students might expect to deal with upon graduation, said Yi-jen Chang, deputy director of the matrimonial and economic justice project at Sanctuary for Families.

“In the training, we emphasize the complex need of a person. They may call us for a divorce, but at the time, an order of protection might be the first priority, or shelter might be the first priority,” she said.

“When I talk about interviewing a battered victim or a survivor, [students]have to pay really close attention. Survivors may not remember things because it’s too traumatizing to remember, or they may minimize things.”

Sanctuary for Families works in all five boroughs, and as such, Chang said the clients hail from a wide array of backgrounds.

“We have Chinese clients who suffer severe physical violence from their very religious or seemingly docile partners; we have a client whose husband is in the Russian mafia. They could be a professor, a diplomat, a taxi driver, or could operate a takeout Chinese restaurant,” she said.

Sasha Fisher, a third-year law student who’s coordinated the Uncontested Divorce Project for the past two years, got a taste of how messy things can get outside of the classroom when, in her first year, she and a partner were tasked with working with a woman whose husband of three years had become violent. After meeting with the students twice, the woman changed her mind and opted not to get a divorce.

Fisher, a 2013 Fordham College at Rose Hill graduate from San Francisco, said she was discouraged at first that the work they’d done was for naught. But she has since realized it was a valuable lesson nonetheless.

“I think this is an experience that a lot of lawyers have. You work as hard as you can for every client, even if the outcome is not what you initially think it will be,” she said.

“It was also a very valuable lesson in client autonomy, which is something that I believe very strongly in. Our clients are adults, and they can make those decisions for themselves.”

Fisher credits two classes she took with sociology professor Jeanne Flavin, PhD, on the U.S. prison system, gender crime, and criminal justice for spurring her interest in family and criminal law. She is now interviewing for positions in the public defender’s office.

The DVAC is one of 24 student clubs under the auspices of the Law School’s Public Interest Resource Center. Fisher said she was drawn to it because of the opportunity to work directly with clients.

For Katherine Wentworth-Ping, a first-year student, involvement with the center is a family affair, of sorts. Her husband volunteered there when he attended Fordham Law. And when she was an undergraduate, her older sister inspired her to work with refugees and asylum seekers who’d survived domestic violence.

The first year of law school can be very inward-oriented, she said, with much emphasis on classwork, so volunteering is a nice break.

“It’s great to actually get outside of that 1L mindset and recalibrate to all the different parts of the profession, and this happens to be a very gratifying part of it—really helping someone in need,” she said.

Tom Schoenherr, assistant dean of the Public Interest Resource Center, said the DVAC was the first student group formed when the center was created 22 years ago.  The partnership with Sanctuary for Families began in 1997.

“Year after year, we find anywhere from a quarter to a third of the entire student body who are willing to dedicate additional time to a volunteer project. They’re not getting academic credit; they’re not getting any money,” he said.

“They feel that whatever project they choose to affiliate with is a very important thing to be involved with even during law school, which is very busy.”

And the feeling is often mutual, Chang said.

“A client told me, ‘I can truly use the word ‘compassionate’ to describe the students. They really want to listen, to get to know me and to know my story,’” she said.

“When a divorce is final, and a client cries and says ‘Thank you, thank you’ 10 times in a row . . ., that’s a moment that I cherish.”

(*Name has been changed to protect her identity.)

She will also discuss her career as a photographer and the bridge between photojournalism and activism.

Wednesday, Oct. 9
4 p.m.
Room 524, Lowenstein Center, Lincoln Center Campus

Ferrato’s photographs exposed the secret world of domestic violence. Her landmark book Living with the Enemy (Aperture, 1991) made front-page news, including the cover of Time magazine. Her photographs and insights into the everyday impact of violence have made her a leading voice in documentary photography.

For more on Ferrato and her work, visit IamUnbeatable.com.

This event is co-sponsored by the Departments of History, Art History and Music, Visual Arts, Women’s Studies Program, American Studies Program, and Fordham College at Rose Hill Dean’s Office.

On Oct. 21, the Fordham community took back the night.

About 65 students, alumni and faculty members, as well as several speakers and other supporters, gathered in the wind on Robert Moses Plaza for the third annual “Take Back the Night” event at Fordham. The vigil and forum gives voice to the survivors of sexual, domestic, and LGBTQ-related violence.

The event was sponsored by Isis, a student organization at the Lincoln Center campus that facilitates discussions on feminist aspects of the political, intellectual and cultural climates of the world.

Students shared stories about their experiences and stories about family members and friends who were victims of violence. In addition, several students performed music focused on the themes of love, compassion, support and putting an end to hate.

Fordham faculty in attendance included Keith Eldredge, dean of students at the Lincoln Center campus; Vincent DeCola, S.J.; Sofia Bautista Pertuz, assistant dean and director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs; and Margaret Schwartz, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication and media studies and the Isis faculty adviser.

Ten speakers from outside the Fordham community joined in the discussion about violence. They shared their experiences of living through violence and working with organizations that try to curb violence.

The vigil ended with a student reading Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise.”

Following the forum was a debriefing session facilitated by psychologists from Counseling and Psychological Services at the Lincoln Center campus. Topics of discussion included gender violence and not blaming the victim.

Speakers include the Hon. Juanita Bing Newton, deputy chief administrative judge for justice initiatives; Ms. Magazine Editor-in-Chief Marcia Ann Gillespie; Victoria Cruz, a domestic violence survivor and domestic violence advocate/counselor, Gay and Lesbian Community Anti-Violence Project; New York City Council member Margarita Lopez and Charlotte A. Watson, executive director, New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence DATE: THURSDAY, MARCH 22, FRIDAY, MARCH 23 TIME: 9:15 A.M. -5:30 P.M. PLACE: MCNALLY AMPHITHEATRE FORDHAM UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL 140 W 62ND ST. NEW YORK, N.Y.