The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is the most recent court to find that federal cannabis gun control legislation is unconstitutional. The case, United States v. Daniels, was published on August 9, 2023. The court joins a growing list of courts which have all found these restrictions unconstitutional.
Federal law prohibits cannabis users from buying or owning guns. A 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, held that the test for determining whether a gun control law is constitutional is (1) whether the affected person has Second Amendment rights, and (2) whether the restriction is “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
All or virtually all courts that have dealt with the federal cannabis gun control law agree that cannabis users have Second Amendment rights. And nearly all courts agree that the federal cannabis restriction is not “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” Now, we can add the Fifth Circuit to that list:
[O]ur 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 based exclusively on his past drug usage. NorRead full article on HarrisBricken
