SCOTUS unanimously limits government's ability to deny guns to marijuana users

In a rare unanimous decision, the US Supreme Court limited the federal government’s authority to take or deny guns to marijuana users, reported Juristnews. The court held that this restriction is a violation of the Second Amendment.

Ali Danial Hemani, a dual citizen of the US and Pakistan, was indicted in 2023 for violating the Gun Control Act. He had a 9mm handgun and 60 grams of marijuana when police with a warrant searched his home. He surrendered the gun and directed police to the marijuana, which he admitted to using “about every other day.”

The federal Gun Control Act, 18 USC § 922(g)(3), prohibits gun ownership or gun by anyone who “is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) Hemani could have faced up to 15 years in prison and the permanent loss of his gun rights for a conviction.

The court’s ruling focused narrowly on the question of the danger posed by someone who uses illegal drugs. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote:

We appreciate that drugs and guns can sometimes make for a dangerous mix… We do not question that sometimes an individual’s unlawful use of marijuana (or any other con­trolled substance) may render him a danger to others. But…the government disclaims the need to show anything like that in this case. Instead, it asks us to conclude that anyone who regularly uses marijuana is categorically vio­lent and dangerous without any further showing.

Both the ACLU and the National Rifle Association celebrated the ruling, with ACLU legal director Cecillia Wang commenting that the ruling protects nearly half of Americans reporting use of marijuana at some point of time in their lives from arbitrary and discriminatory penalties.

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