Federal law prohibits cannabis users from owning or possessing firearms. There are a host of federal court cases that may find these prohibitions an unconstitutional violation of cannabis users’ gun rights. But even if courts find these laws unconstitutional, many cannabis users could still face other federal government hurdles and restrictions.
If you are not familiar with the state of federal laws and want a thorough debrief, I suggest you first check out any of my prior posts on the topic, which are below. But the first two sentences of this post basically sum up the state of affairs as of now. Let’s assume that courts overturn the federal gun control laws for cannabis users. Today I’ll examine the two ways I think the federal government will try to restrict gun rights.
Misrepresentations on federal background check forms could lead to charges
First, the government could charge cannabis users who purchased firearms during the period when the federal restrictions were in place. Recall that Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) requires gun buyers to fill out an ATF 4473 form, which asks for a “Yes” or “No” to the following:
Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?
Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.
Persons who answer “no” but actually use cannabis could be guilty of a felony. While these prosecutions are reportedly rare, they still happen. Two prominent recent examples are the reported investigation of Hunter Biden, and charges against the mother of a 6-year-old student that allegedly shot her teacher. Even if federal courts completely do away with restrictions on marijuana users’ gun rights, that won’t affect the potential for federal charges for making misrepresentations on the ATF 4473.
Prior marijuana convictions may restrict gun right
Second, marijuana users who were convicted of certain crimes may continue to be denied their Second Amendment rights after a change in law. One of the other questions on the ATF 4473 asks (with the emphasis in the original text): “Have you ever been convicted in any court, including a military court, of a felony, or any other crime for which the judge could have imprisoned you for more than one year, even if you received a shorter sentence including probation?”
Under this question, convictions for misdemeanors of any nature that simply could have led to imprisonment for more than a year (even if they in fact did not), are sufficient to deny a firearm purchase. So a person who was convicted of a marijuana-related crime that simply could have netted more than a year sentence, even if it did not, could lose their gun rights. This too will not necessarily change even if the federal courts do away with the marijuana-related prohibition.
That said, it seems like even this federal restriction may go away soon. The federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided a case, Range v. Attorney General of the United States of America, holding that this law was invalid as applied to the plaintiff. Range had previously pled guilty to a nonviolent state misdemeanor that could have netted him more than a year in prison, though he only was sentenced to probation. After being denied a firearm purchase, he sued, and after initial proceedings, the federal appellate court held that the law was invalid as applied to him. While this is only an as-applied challenge in one federal circuit, it could lead to a broader U.S. Supreme Court holding in the future.
What the future might hold for cannabis users’ gun rights
Personally, I think there is a very good chance that the Supreme Court holds unconstitutional federal restrictions on cannabis users owning and possessing firearms. I also think there is a reasonably good chance the court holds unconstitutional restrictions with respect to certain non-violent offenses. All of that is a ways away though, and nothing is guaranteed. Even if some restrictions are pared back, the government will have other tools at its disposal to restrict cannabis users’ gun rights absent a massive sea change in federal law or enforcement, which is always possible but seems less likely given current political trends.
If you want to read my prior posts on cannabis users and gun rights, please see the following:
As always, stay tuned to the Canna Law Blog for more updates.
