Banning those who use marijuana from possessing firearms is unconstitutional, according to a new ruling by a federal appeals court.
In the case United States of America versus Patrick Darnell Daniels, Jr., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously agreed to reverse the conviction of an individual sentenced to nearly four years in prison after being caught by police with firearms and then subsequently admitting to using marijuana “fourteen times a month”.
The three-judge panel cited a 2022 Supreme Court ruling which found that any regulations or restrictions on firearm use must be consistent with the original intent of the second amendment, established in 1791. The court argued that the government did not meet this standard when arguing that marijuana use disqualifies an individual from possessing guns.
“Throughout American history, laws have regulated the combination of guns and intoxicating substances. But at no point in the 18th or 19th century did the government disarm individuals who used drugs or alcohol at one time from possessing guns at another,” says the court’s opinion, written by Circuit Judge Jerry Smith. “In short, our history and tradition may support some limits on an intoxicated person’s right to carry a weapon, but it does not justify disarming a sober citizen based exclusively on his past drug usage. Nor do more generalized traditions of disarming dangerous persons support this restriction on nonviolent drug users.”
The court says that “the Founding generation had no occasion to consider the relationship between firearms and intoxication via cannabis”.
Circuit Judge Stephen Higginson gave a concurring opinion saying they “fully” agree with the court’s interpretation of the issue.
You can find the full ruling by clicking here.
