The US Supreme Court will consider whether a law banning habitual illegal drug users from possessing guns violates the constitution.
The Trump administration requested the review after a lower federal court in Texas ruled in favour of a man who was charged under the statute but argued it violated his constitutional right to possess a firearm.
The government is seeking to preserve the law and restore the charge, arguing it is necessary to prevent individuals who pose “unique dangers to society” from owning guns.
Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden was prosecuted and convicted for violating the same law in 2024. His father later pardoned him.
The case involves a man named Ali Hemani, an alleged regular marijuana user who federal authorities charged after finding his pistol during a raid of his home in Texas.
He was prosecuted under a law that prohibits anyone who “is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled sub-stance” from having a gun.
Mr Hemani’s attorneys successfully argued to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that the charge should be thrown out on the grounds that it violated his right to bear arms under the Second Amendment of the US constitution.
Republicans generally favour expanded gun rights and access, and the Trump administration typically supports Second Amendment rights.
However, the administration has asked for the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court ruling.
“Habitual illegal drug users with firearms present unique dangers to society -especially because they pose a grave risk of armed, hostile encounters with police officers while impaired,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in his petition to the court.
The statue does not unfairly infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment rights, the government argues, because the restriction is narrowly tailored to habitual users who could in the future regain their access to guns if they stop using illegal substances.
Mr Hemani’s legal team argued that the law was too broad and could unfairly impact people who use marijuana.
While several states have legalised or decriminalised cannabis use, it remains illegal under federal law.
The current conservative majority of the US Supreme Court has tended to support gun rights, though there have been exceptions.
The court expanded gun rights in a 2022 ruling that underscored the historical basis for the Second Amendment. However, in 2024, the court upheld a ban on individuals with domestic violence restraining orders from having firearms.
By BBC News
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