US court rules ban on marijuana users owning guns is unconstitutional

A FEDERAL LAW prohibiting marijuana users from possessing firearms is unconstitutional, a federal choose in Oklahoma has concluded, citing final yr’s US Supreme Court ruling that considerably expanded gun rights.

US District Choose Patrick Wyrick, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump in Oklahoma Metropolis, on Friday dismissed an indictment in opposition to a person charged in August with violating that ban, saying it infringed his proper to bear arms underneath the US Structure’s Second Modification.

Mr. Wyrick mentioned that whereas the federal government can defend the general public from harmful individuals possessing guns, it couldn’t argue Jared Harrison’s “mere status as a user of marijuana justifies stripping him of his fundamental right to possess a firearm.”

He mentioned utilizing marijuana was “not in and of itself a violent, forceful, or threatening act,” and famous that Oklahoma is one among numerous states the place the drug, nonetheless unlawful underneath federal regulation, might be legally purchased for medical makes use of.

“The mere use of marijuana carries none of the characteristics that the Nation’s history and tradition of firearms regulation supports,” Mr. Wyrick wrote.

Laura Deskin, a public defender representing Harrison, mentioned the ruling was a “step in the right direction for a large number of Americans who deserve the right to bear arms and protect their homes just like any other American.” She referred to as marijuana probably the most generally used drug unlawful on the federal stage.

The US Division of Justice didn’t reply to request for remark however is prone to enchantment.

The choice marked the newest occasion of a court declaring a gun regulation unconstitutional after the US Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority in June dominated that the Second Modification protects an individual’s proper to hold a handgun in public for self-defense.

That ruling, New York State Rifle & Pistol Affiliation v. Bruen, introduced a brand new check for assessing firearms legal guidelines, saying restrictions should be “consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

On Thursday, the New Orleans-based fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals cited that call in declaring unconstitutional a federal regulation barring individuals underneath home violence restraining orders from owning firearms. — Reuters

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