The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a Texas man can't be prosecuted for being a regular user of marijuana and owning a gun. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
June 18 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court said Thursday that a Texas man can't be prosecuted under a law that bans regular users of controlled substances from having firearms.
The justices decided unanimously that the "habitual user" law was inconsistent with the Second Amendment of the Constitution.
"We appreciate that drugs and guns can sometimes make for a dangerous mix," Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the opinion. But, Gorsuch wrote, the law could not be squared with the court's standard that gun restrictions must be based on the nation's "tradition."
According to Gorsuch's opinion, the FBI had suspected Ali Danial Hemani, a dual American and Pakistani citizen, of having ties to terrorist organizations. Hemani was born in Texas and has lived most of his life in Dallas. When the authorities searched his home in 2022, he cooperated and turned over his legally owned gun. He pointed out some marijuana and said he used it about every other day.
