The US Supreme Court has unanimously struck down a federal law that prohibited regular marijuana users from owning semi-automatic rifles. The ruling centers on the case United States v. Hemani, which involved Texas resident Ali Hemani. Hemani was charged with a felony under federal statute 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) for possessing a semi-automatic rifle for self-defense while admitting to using marijuana “every other day.”
Background of the Case
Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the opinion for the Court, arguing that the federal government failed to prove Hemani posed an actual danger. The Court held that the federal statute casts too wide a net and that the government cannot designate any group as dangerous without further showing.
Gun rights organizations, including the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), welcomed the ruling. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb stated that the federal ban overreached and that the Court rightly held that it casts too wide a net.
Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.
