Supreme Court Sides with Marijuana User Who Was Barred From Owning Guns
The ruling leaves intact the Court’s 2022 history-and-tradition test and says the government failed to show a founding-era analogue for disarming marijuana users.
- On Thursday, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that federal law prohibiting marijuana users from owning firearms violates the Second Amendment as applied to Ali Hemani, a Texas-born American who used the drug 'about every other day.'
- Federal agents discovered a pistol and 60 grams of marijuana in Hemani's home during a 2022 search, prompting prosecutors to charge him under Section 922 and argue the ban paralleled founding-era laws restricting 'habitual drunkards.'
- Justice Neil Gorsuch rejected the analogy, writing that founding-era laws 'targeted different kinds of people, for different purposes, and operated in different ways' and required individuals unable to care for themselves, unlike occasional marijuana users.
- Gorsuch emphasized the decision is 'narrow,' explicitly declining to address whether the government could disarm 'addicts' or those 'presently intoxicated' and confirming the ruling does not affect bans on firearm possession by felons.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson concurred, describing the 'Bruen' test as 'unworkable' for judges resolving modern problems with centuries-old evidence, while courts have yet to resolve challenges to state-level bans on AR-15s and other assault weapons.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Supreme Court Rules Federal Drug-User Gun Ban Falls in US v. Hemani
“A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court just told the anti-gun movement and the U.S. Solicitor General that being a marijuana user alone provides no legal basis to strip an American of his fundamental Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms — and in doing so, the Court strengthened the Bruen pro-2A “text first, history second” methodology.” – Professor Mark W. Smith, Four Boxes Diner Host The Supreme Court has unanimously held that being a regular …
Supreme Court Delivers Major Second Amendment Win by Limiting Federal Gun Ban on Marijuana Users
The Supreme Court has dealt a significant Second Amendment ruling limiting how far federal authorities can go in enforcing firearm restrictions against marijuana users, in a unanimous 9–0 decision that challenges the government's approach to drug-related gun bans. The case centred on Ali Danial Hemani, an American-Pakistani dual citizen, who admitted regular marijuana use but argued this alone should not automatically justify the loss of his con…
ATF Will Issue Updated Guidance On Gun Rights For Marijuana Users 'Soon' Following Supreme Court Ruling In Second Amendment Case
A federal agency that regulates guns says it is planning to provide guidance in the wake of a Supreme Court decision this week that found the government’s efforts to criminalize possession of firearms for marijuana consumers is unconstitutional. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) noted the court’s unanimous ruling in a social media post on Thursday, saying it is “reviewing the decision and assessing its impact.” “Addit…
Ariel Torres Meléndez, president of the Corporation for the Defense of Gun License Holders of Puerto Rico (CODEPOLA), celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to allow a cannabis user to retain their concealed carry license…
Second Amendment Roundup: Gun Ban for Pot Users Unconstitutional
On June 18, in United States v. Hemani, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the prohibition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) of firearm possession by a person who is "an unlawful user of" a controlled substance violates the Second Amendment as applied to one who used marijuana "about every other day." Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, Barrett, and Jackson. Justice A…
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