The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of the respondent in United States v. Hemani, a case challenging the federal lifetime ban on firearm possession for marijuana users.
SAF is joined in the amicus filing by the California Rifle & Pistol Association, Second Amendment Law Center, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus.
“The government’s position defies Bruen and Rahimi by seeking to impose a permanent disarmament on law-abiding citizens who use marijuana, even when sober, without any distinctly similar historical tradition to justify such a draconian restriction,” said SAF Director of Legal Research and Education Kostas Moros. “History shows that Founding-era laws addressed the dangers of intoxication and firearms through temporary restrictions on those actively impaired, never by stripping gun rights from sober individuals who occasionally use socially accepted substances like alcohol — or, by analogy, marijuana today. We urge the Court to affirm the Fifth Circuit and reject this unconstitutional overreach.”
The ban on firearm possession by marijuana users affects millions of law-abiding Americans who face losing their Second Amendment rights simply for using a substance that is state-legal and widely accepted, often for medical reasons. Marijuana is currently legal to a various extent in 40 states.
“This case highlights the federal government’s unconstitutional infringement on the right to keep and bear arms for those legally using marijuana, ignoring clear historical limits,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “SAF is committed to defending these rights against outdated prohibitions, and we believe this warrants the Supreme Court’s affirmation.”
For more information visit SAF.org.
About the Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
