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Eighth Circuit Narrows Blanket Firearm Prohibition for “Unlawful User[s]” of Drugs

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Eighth Circuit Narrows Blanket Firearm Prohibition for “Unlawful User[s]” of Drugs

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in the NRA-supported case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) continues to play a critical role in cases related to Second Amendment rights. On February 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit pared back the federal government’s blanket ban on all illegal drug users (even those who use marijuana in accordance with state law) possessing firearms.

Justice Clarence Thomas’s opinion in Bruen made clear that for a firearm regulation to pass constitutional muster it must fit within the text, history, and tradition of the Second Amendment right. The opinion stated,

[w]hen the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct. The government must then justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Only then may a court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the Second Amendment’s “unqualified command.”

This has correctly prompted a reappraisal of the categories of people prohibited from possessing firearms enumerated in federal law at 18 U.S.C. 922(g). In the historical tradition, the government could bar individuals who have been found to be dangerous from possessing firearms. However, the federal prohibited persons categories go well beyond this understanding.

The Eighth Circuit case of U.S. v. Cooper concerned a gentleman who fell under the 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) prohibition on anyone “who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” for regularly smoking marijuana.

This prohibition has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, as states have sought to liberalize their laws concerning marijuana. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that “47 states… allow for the use of cannabis for medical purposes.” However, federal law still prohibits marijuana possession, making those who use it, even in accordance with state law, subject to the sweeping 922(g)(3) prohibition. The Eighth Circuit panel concluded that the 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) prohibition at least sometimes violates the Second Amendment as applied to some drug users.

The Eighth Circuit panel acknowledged that some drug users can be barred from possessing firearms consistent with the Second Amendment when their conduct is akin to that of the severely mentally ill who could be committed or those “taking up arms to terrify the people,” which were historic causes for disarmament.

Explaining the mental illness analogy, the court stated,

The “behavioral effects” of mental illness and drug use can “overlap”… but only the subset of the mentally ill who were dangerous faced confinement and the loss of arms… It follows that, for disarmament of drug users and addicts to be comparably “justifi[ed],” it must be limited to those “who pose a danger to others.”… The analogy is complete, in other words, for someone whose “regular use[] of... PCP... induce[s] violence,” but not for a “frail and elderly grandmother” who “uses  marijuana for a chronic medical condition.”

Further explaining the “taking up arms to terrify the people” analogy, the court stated that the historic restriction was “a mechanism for punishing those who had menaced others with firearms.”

The court went on to explain,

Sometimes disarming drug users and addicts will line up with the case-by-case historical tradition, but other times it will not … The district court’s task on remand is to figure out which side of the Second Amendment line Cooper’s case falls on.

It is important to note, as the preceding passage suggests, the Eighth Circuit’s ruling was on an as-applied basis, meaning that the individual facts of a case will matter in determining whether the blanket unlawful user firearm prohibition applies to an individual. However, the Eighth Circuit’s more nuanced approach to 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) prohibition, meaningfully taking into account the historic tradition of firearm restrictions, is welcome evidence that following Bruen the lower federal courts are starting to treat the Second Amendment right with the respect it deserves.

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Anti-gun Lawmakers Attempt to Ban Essential Second Amendment Arms

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Monday, May 5, 2025

Anti-gun Lawmakers Attempt to Ban Essential Second Amendment Arms

On April 30, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced the so-called “Assault Weapons Ban of 2025.” Picking up where his predecessor Dianne Feinstein left off, Schiff’s legislation would ban commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms, such as the AR-15.

Canada’s Gun Confiscation: Still Grasping for Solutions?

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Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Canada’s Gun Confiscation: Still Grasping for Solutions?

Last year, we wrote about how several previous enforcement schemes for Canada’s Liberal government’s 2020 gun ban and confiscation appeared to have fizzled out. 

House Committee on Ways and Means Advances Legislation Involving Suppressors

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Wednesday, May 14, 2025

House Committee on Ways and Means Advances Legislation Involving Suppressors

Early this morning, The House Committee on Ways & Means, led by Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO-08) finished a markup of their section of the Reconciliation Bill. Included in this legislation was a provision which would ...

Bite This: “Scientists” Uncover Link Between “Gun Violence” and Oral Hygiene

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Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Bite This: “Scientists” Uncover Link Between “Gun Violence” and Oral Hygiene

Some of us remember our days as kids, when the adults in our lives would tell us before bedtime, “Brush your teeth, and say your prayers.”

Rhode Island: Semi-Auto Ban Being Pushed in Both Chambers

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Rhode Island: Semi-Auto Ban Being Pushed in Both Chambers

On Wednesday, May 14th, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a lengthy hearing on S.359, a sweeping semi-auto ban falsely dubbed an “assault weapons ban.” If passed, this legislation would ban scores of commonly owned rifles, ...

Rocky Times for Gun Owners in the Rocky Mountain State

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Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Rocky Times for Gun Owners in the Rocky Mountain State

As the Colorado legislative session closes, its 2025 edition will long be remembered and lamented as a historic assault on the Second Amendment.

Arizona: Governor Hobbs Vetoes Three Pro-Gun Bills Passed by Legislature

Friday, May 16, 2025

Arizona: Governor Hobbs Vetoes Three Pro-Gun Bills Passed by Legislature

Despite strong support from the Arizona Legislature, Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed Senate Bills 1014, 1020, and 1143, each of which sought to protect and enhance the rights of law-abiding gun owners in the Grand Canyon ...

NRA Takes Fight to Defend the Constitutional Rights of Young Adults to the U.S. Supreme Court

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Second Amendment  

Friday, May 16, 2025

NRA Takes Fight to Defend the Constitutional Rights of Young Adults to the U.S. Supreme Court

Today, the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) filed a Petition for Certiorari in NRA v. Glass, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its challenge to Florida’s prohibition on firearm purchases by adults under ...

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

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Friday, March 21, 2025

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

On March 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published an interim final rule entitled, Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority. That bland title belies the historic nature of the measure, which is aimed at reviving ...

Oklahoma: Governor Stitt Signs Defensive Display Legislation

Friday, May 16, 2025

Oklahoma: Governor Stitt Signs Defensive Display Legislation

Yesterday, May 15th, Governor Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 2818, expanding self-defense protections.

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NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.