Justices weigh whether a federal law barring unlawful drug users from owning firearms aligns with the Second Amendment.
The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to evaluate the Constitutionality of a federal statute that prevents individuals who use illegal drugs from possessing firearms.
The U.S. Department of Justice argues the measure is consistent with the Second Amendment, asserting that habitual users of unlawful substances pose a clear risk if armed.
A federal appeals court found the law largely unconstitutional in recent rulings, prompting the Justice Department’s appeal.
The case adds to the Court’s current term agenda, which already includes other major firearms-rights disputes.
The law under challenge traces to the Gun Control Act of 1968, which prohibits anyone who is “an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” from owning a gun.
In the precedent-setting Bruen decision in 2022, the Court affirmed that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry firearms publicly and provided a framework for assessing gun restrictions.
The DOJ highlights that the restriction is not permanent: once a person ceases unlawful drug use, the prohibition no longer applies.
The federal government also notes that many states already enforce similar rules barring drug users or addicts from gun ownership.
In one case before the Court, the defendant was indicted after agents found a pistol and controlled substances in his home; he challenged the law’s application to his situation.
The lower appellate court reasoned that general drug use alone, without evidence of intoxication or dangerousness, does not justify disarming a person who is otherwise sober.
The Supreme Court’s decision will have substantial implications for how broadly firearm restrictions tied to drug use can be applied under Constitutional scrutiny.
Read more at CBS News.
