A federal appeals court has ruled that the ban preventing people who use marijuana from possessing firearms is unconstitutional—the latest and highest-level blow to the long-standing federal prohibition that’s actively being challenged in a number of cases across the country.
A three-judge panel agreed on Wednesday to reverse the conviction of a man who was sentenced to nearly four years in prison after being pulled over with firearms and admitting to occasionally using cannabis.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit cited a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that says any firearm restrictions must be consistent with the historical context of the Second Amendment’s original 1791 ratification. Judges said that the federal government’s attempts to establish a historical analogue to the marijuana gun ban fell short.
“Throughout American history, laws have regulated the combination of guns and intoxicating substances. But at no point in the 18th or 19th century did the government disarm individuals who used drugs or alcohol at one time from possessing guns at another,” the appeals court said.
“In short, our history and tradition may support some limits on an intoxicated person’s right to carry a weapon, but it does not justify disarming a sober citizen
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