The Supreme Court said Monday that it would consider whether regular pot smokers could legally own guns. The announcement comes after the Trump administration asked the court to revive a case against a Texas man.
Ali Danial Hemani was charged with a felony because he acknowledged that he had a gun in his home and that he regularly smoked pot. His charges were dismissed after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a law barring people who use any illegal drugs from possessing guns. However, the appeals court found the law could still be used against people accused of being high and armed at the same time.
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The Department of Justice appealed that ruling and wants the Supreme Court to reinstate Hemani’s case.
Hemani’s lawyers said that the law puts millions of Americans at risk of technical violations because at least 20% of the country has used marijuana before. While still federally illegal, about half of U.S. states have legalized the drug for recreational use.
How have courts ruled on gun laws in the past?
The current Supreme Court has previously ruled on other gun-related laws.
In 2022, the court found that the Second Amendment generally gives people the right to carry guns in public for self-defense, and any law restricting firearms must have a strong grounding in the nation’s history. The ruling led to a cascade of challenges to gun laws across the country.
Despite the conservative majority, justices also upheld a gun control law intended to protect victims of domestic abuse. The law prohibits some people under domestic violence restraining orders from obtaining a gun.
Chief Justice John Roberts said the law used “common sense” and that it only applied “after a judge determines that an individual poses a credible threat.”
