The fight over whether marijuana users can legally own firearms is headed to the nation’s highest court — and one civil liberties attorney says the federal ban may be living on borrowed time.
The case challenges a provision of the Gun Control Act of 1968 that makes it a felony for anyone considered an “unlawful user” of a controlled substance to possess a gun. Because cannabis remains illegal under federal law, that includes people who use marijuana — even in states where it’s fully legal.
An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union says she’s confident the Supreme Court of the United States will strike down the restriction after hearing oral arguments next week. The argument: stripping someone of their Second Amendment rights solely for using cannabis — particularly when it’s legal under state law — lacks historical grounding and fails constitutional scrutiny.
The Justice Department disagrees, defending the statute as a public safety measure. But supporters of the challenge say the law unfairly equates marijuana use with dangerousness and punishes otherwise law-abiding citizens.
Now, the justices will decide whether the federal government can continue to tie gun ownership to a substance that half the country has already moved on from.
Dabbin-Dad Newsroom
