Supreme court sides with Texas marijuana user who wants to own a firearm in latest case expanding gun rights – live

The supreme court has sided with a marijuana user who wants to legally own a gun, the latest in a line of firearm cases from a court that has expanded gun rights. In a 9-0 ruling, the justices sided with Ali Danial Hemani, a resident of Texas who was charged with felony gun possession after he acknowledged being a regular marijuana user. Hemani wasn’t charged with any other crimes or accused of using the weapon under the influence. The 1968 Gun Control Act makes possession of a firearm illegal for anyone ⁠who “is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance”. That gun restriction led to the 2024 conviction of Hunter Biden , who later that year received a pardon from his father, then-president Joe Biden . Prosecutors had accused him of lying about his use ⁠of narcotics in 2018 when he purchased a Colt Cobra handgun. Hemani argued that a federal law barring gun ownership from anyone who uses drugs illegally violates the constitution’s second amendment. The decision is a loss for the Trump administration , which had defended the 1968 law despite arguing against other gun restrictions.