Supreme Court takes up Hemani case over gun ban for drug users

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether a federal law that bars unlawful users and addicts of controlled substances from possessing firearms violates the Second Amendment, taking up United States v. Hemani. The case stems from a search of the home of Ali Danial Hemani, a Texas resident, in which agents found a 9 mm pistol, about 60 grams of marijuana and roughly 4.7 grams of cocaine. Hemani told investigators he used marijuana about every other day and was charged under a statute dating to 1968 that prohibits gun possession by unlawful drug users.

The Justice Department asked the high court to reinstate the prosecution after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded the statute, as applied to Hemani, was inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Bruen. The Fifth Circuit held the government could not sustain the ban unless a defendant was armed while under the influence at the time of arrest, finding the statute’s broader application ran afoul of the historical-tradition test the court imposed in Bruen.

In its petition, the government argued the prohibition targets only "habitual" users or addicts and therefore imposes a narrow, temporary...