WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in United States v. Hemani, a 2nd Amendment case that could reshape how federal law treats gun ownership.
Ali Danial Hemani, a Texas man, was indicted after authorities searched his home and reportedly found a Glock 19 pistol, marijuana, and a small amount of cocaine.
Prosecutors charged him under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), a federal statute that makes it a felony for anyone who is an “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” to possess a firearm. A conviction can carry up to 15 years in prison.
Lower courts dismissed the charge but the Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court, asking justices to reinstate the charge against Hemani and clarify whether § 922(g)(3) is constitutional as applied to regular marijuana users.
Gun-control advocates backing the government warn that overturning or narrowing the statute could undercut firearm eligibility rules and complicate enforcement, including background checks.
“The background check system must be able to work easily, and practically, you have to have very clear lines, said Douglas Letter, chief legal officer with Brady United. “The whole point is to keep guns away from people Congress have decided are some kind of danger and should not have guns.”
However, the government’s stance has drawn opposition from group’s across the ideological spectrum from the NRA to the ACLU, and many others.
“[It’s] a blanket law, it doesn’t matter what the controlled substance is. What that means is, if the government considers someone to be habitual marijuana use for example, they don’t have second amendment rights,” said Matthew Cavedon with the CATO Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice.
Cavedon argues the government had other avenues to charge Hemani but instead chose to use his case to target others.
“The government needs real evidence that somebody is an irresponsible drug user. That they’re abusing substances in a way that makes them a danger to other people,” he said.
Oral arguments are scheduled for Monday, March 2. A decision is expected later in the Court’s term, with implications for gun owners nationwide – especially in states where marijuana is legal under state law but remains illegal federally
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