(AFP) – The US Supreme Court appeared likely on Monday to strike down a federal law prohibiting habitual abusers of illegal drugs from owning firearms. The conservative-dominated court is deciding whether the law violates the Constitution’s Second Amendment, which says Americans have the right to keep and bear arms. The statute — notably used to convict former president Joe Biden’s son Hunter — prohibits the possession of firearms by a person who “is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” and is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Hunter Biden was pardoned by his father shortly before he left office last year.
The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, tends to rule in favor of gun owners, and after two hours of oral arguments on Monday, a majority appeared inclined to strike down the law. The case before the court involves Ali Danial Hemani, an alleged habitual marijuana user indicted for being unlawfully in possession of a Glock pistol. An appeals court ruled that barring Hemani, a dual US-Pakistani national, from owning a gun violated his Second Amendment rights. Republican President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, which generally backs expansive gun rights, challenged that decision.
“The Second Amendment does not prohibit the government from temporarily disarming habitual marijuana users while they persist in using frequently,” Principal Deputy Solicitor General Sarah Harris told the court. This fits in with the “historical tradition” of treating “habitual drunkards” as a class that threatens public safety, Harris said. Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative, pushed back, saying that even early American presidents might have qualified as “habitual drunkards” by the standards of today. “John Adams took a tankard of hard cider with his breakfast every day,” Gorsuch said. “James Madison reportedly drank a pint of whiskey every day. Are they habitual drunkards who would be properly disarmed for life?” he asked.
Gorsuch and other justices also raised questions about how the law applies to marijuana, which is legal in multiple US states, and prescription drugs such as the insomnia medication Ambien or Adderall, which is used to treat ADHD or narcolepsy. “I’m not a pharmacologist, but none of those drugs strike me as drugs for which it is obvious that a risk of violence would ensue,” said Justice Amy Coney Barrett, another conservative. “What is the government’s evidence that using marijuana a couple times a week makes someone dangerous?” Harris pointed to the appeals court ruling that “someone who repeatedly uses marijuana multiple times a week is in the heartland of an unlawful user” and said as for the other drugs, “you have to be using them habitually and not for their prescribed purpose.”
Erin Murphy, Hemani’s lawyer, told the justices that the law “fails to provide fair notice of what makes someone an unlawful user of a controlled substance that can be stripped of their Second Amendment rights.” “They just can’t get there simply by saying somebody uses some unknown quantity of marijuana some unknown time of day a few times a week,” Murphy said. The Hemani case is one of two gun rights cases the court agreed to hear this term. The other involves a Hawaii law restricting where holders of concealed carry permits can bring their firearms.
The Supreme Court recently upheld regulation of “ghost guns” — firearms sold in easy-to-assemble kits — and restricted gun access for persons subject to domestic violence restraining orders. The court is expected to issue its ruling in the Hemani case by late June or early July.
– Chris Lefkow
© 2024 AFP
