Ban on marijuana users owning guns is unconstitutional, judge rules
GuardianNov 25, 2022
US Judge: Ban on Marijuana Users Owning Guns Unconstitutional
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Image copyright: AP [via The Guardian]
The Facts
On Friday, US District Judge Patrick Wyrick in Oklahoma ruled a federal law banning marijuana users from possessing firearms violates the Second Amendment. The ruling came as Wyrick dismissed a case against a man under that law, ruling it violated his right to bear arms.
Lawyers for Jared Michael Harrison argued that the federal law was inconsistent with the historical tradition of firearm regulation, while federal prosecutors said it was "consistent with a longstanding historical tradition...of disarming presumptively risky persons," including the intoxicated.
The Spin
Left narrative
Several of the most high-profile mass shooters in America, as well as many lesser known perpetrators, have been known marijuana users. The federal government understands this, which is why laws like this were put in place and the Justice Dept. has worked to disarm these dangerous individuals. As more states legalize marijuana, it's a foregone conclusion that potential shooters will get their hands on it, which is why law enforcement needs the tools to combat this growing threat.
Right narrative
The federal law that prosecutors were using against Harrison specifically prohibits only dangerous individuals from possessing firearms. As both the Oklahoma and New York cases involved people with violent histories, it seems the government has a violence problem, not a law-abiding gun owner and weed smoker problem. With hundreds of thousands of marijuana users in Oklahoma alone, no rational person would call all of them — or even a majority — dangerous people.
