Good news for marijuana users across America. A US District Judge in Oklahoma struck down federal law that bars marijuana users from gun ownership. The judge, Patrick Wyrick, cited the Bruen US Supreme Court decision from last summer and that the government failed to provide the historical analogues from colonial times that would allow such an infringement today.
Yes, those who smoke or otherwise ingest pot don’t automatically forfeit their fundamental right to keep and bear arms for personal defense or other lawful purposes under federal law. Obviously, the US Department of Justice is expected to appeal, but they will have a tough time reversing the decision.
Reuters has the story via US News & World Report:
(Reuters) – A federal law prohibiting marijuana users from possessing firearms is unconstitutional, a federal judge in Oklahoma has concluded, citing last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that significantly expanded gun rights.
U.S. District Judge Patrick Wyrick, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump in Oklahoma City, on Friday dismissed an indictment against a man charged in August with violating that ban, saying it infringed his right to bear arms under the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment.
Wyrick said that while the government can protect the public from dangerous people possessing guns, it could not argue Jared Harrison’s “mere status as a user of marijuana justifies stripping him of his fundamental right to possess a firearm.”
He said using marijuana was “not in and of itself a violent, forceful, or threatening act,” and noted that Oklahoma is one of a number of states where the drug, still illegal under federal law, can be legally bought for medical uses.
“The mere use of marijuana carries none of the characteristics that the Nation’s history and tradition of firearms regulation supports,” Wyrick wrote.
Laura Deskin, a public defender representing Harrison, said the ruling was a “step in the right direction for a large number of Americans who deserve the right to bear arms and protect their homes just like any other American.” She called marijuana the most commonly used drug illegal at the federal level.
The U.S. Department of Justice did not respond to request for comment but is likely to appeal.
The Bruen decision continues to serve as the wrecking ball tearing down gun control laws across America. Meanwhile, anti-gun, anti-self-defense governors like California’s Gavin Newsom and others fight the rule of law to continue defending their unconstitutional, antiquated gun laws. Or even pass new ones.
Gun owners in those jurisdictions should remain patient as courts work their magic. After all, governors and state officials desperately clung to school segregation laws even after the US Supreme Court handed down the Brown v. Board of Education decision banning racist racial segregation in schools. In fact, even two years later, Arkansas racist governor named Orval Faubus tried to have his state National Guard block black students from the Little Rock High School. He failed.
Hopefully modern day legislatures and governors will be a little quicker on the uptake than Orval Faubus, but only time will tell.
Yeah I am still not visiting and damn pot joints!
With state laws changing towards medicinal and recreational use of marijuana, and it has been brought up in the US House about de-criminalization, it is only right to change the firearms ownership/usage penalties for those who “partake” in marijuana use. Just my humble opinion.