The United States Supreme Court has unanimously ruled in favor of a Texas marijuana user who argued that a federal law banning illegal drug users from owning firearms violates the Second Amendment. All nine justices sided with Ali Danial Hemani in a decision that narrows, but does not eliminate, the government's ability to restrict gun access for drug users.

"The court's unanimous ruling will protect millions of Americans from draconian punishment, simply because they happen to use marijuana and own a firearm," said Hemani's lawyer, Niz Ahmad, following the ruling.

The case brought together an unusual political alliance of pro-gun and civil liberties groups. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which helped represent Hemani, previously argued that the law gave too much power to federal prosecutors and risked "arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement."

The decision upholds a lower court's dismissal of an illegal gun possession charge against Hemani, a Pakistani American dual citizen who admitted to using marijuana. The Trump administration had argued in favor of the 1968 federal law, likening it to 19th-century regulations allowing the government to temporarily disarm "habitual drunkards."

Justice Neil Gorsuch noted the country's more relaxed stance toward cannabis in recent years, writing: "Whatever one thinks of these developments, the federal government has not just tolerated them; it helped fuel them. All of which leaves it awkwardly positioned to suggest that the millions of Americans who now regularly use marijuana are categorically and unusually dangerous."

However, Gorsuch noted that the government could still prosecute addicts or those presently intoxicated under the law. The ruling does not address bans on addicts or intoxicated individuals possessing firearms.

The law at the center of the decision was previously used against Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden. He was convicted of purchasing a firearm while addicted to cocaine in 2018, but was later pardoned by his father.

Source: www.aljazeera.com