Attorneys general for 19 states and Washington, D.C. are siding with the federal government in a U.S. Supreme Court case that could decide the fate of a law preventing marijuana users from buying or possessing firearms.
In an amicus brief for the case U.S. v. Hemani that was submitted to the court on Friday, the top state prosecutors—led by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul (D)—said justices should maintain the current statute known as 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3).
That law has been challenged in multiple federal courts in recent years, but the Supreme Court agreed to take up Hemani, a case that led a lower court to rule that the federal prohibition on gun ownership by people who use cannabis violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
“I am urging the Supreme Court to reverse the appellate court’s decision because the mix of habitual drug use and firearms poses recognized public safety risks,” Raoul said in a press release. “Allowing habitual drug users to carry or use firearms significantly increases danger to our communities.”
“I am proud to lead this bipartisan coalition, as we all agreed we need to work together to protect our states and communities from gun violence,”
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