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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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U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, May 22, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, completely removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

ATF Invites FFLs Zeroed Out Under Biden-Harris to Reapply

News  

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

ATF Invites FFLs Zeroed Out Under Biden-Harris to Reapply

Among all the infringements of the Second Amendment perpetrated by the Biden-Harris regime, one of the most punitive and consequential was ATF’s “zero tolerance” enforcement policy for Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs). 

U.S. Representative Suggests TRIPLING ($600) Suppressor Tax!

News  

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

U.S. Representative Suggests TRIPLING ($600) Suppressor Tax!

Excellent news for gun owners came last week when the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes the complete removal of suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA). 

Twenty-four State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Pass H.R. 38

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Twenty-four State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Pass H.R. 38

On May 21, two dozen state attorneys general sent a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging that body to pass H.R. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

Loot Canal: U.S. Taxpayers Funded Bizarre Dental “Gun Violence” Research

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Loot Canal: U.S. Taxpayers Funded Bizarre Dental “Gun Violence” Research

When the Biden-Harris administration made clear they intended to use a “whole-of-government” approach to suppress Second Amendment rights, few could have predicted their efforts would extend all the way to the dentist’s office.

Australia’s Gun Laws, Failing in Different Ways

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Australia’s Gun Laws, Failing in Different Ways

Everything is relative, so the saying goes, which means that once in a while, it’s instructive to read about the gun laws and the state of gun rights in other countries. 

NRA-ILA Petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to NFA Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

News  

Second Amendment  

Friday, June 6, 2025

NRA-ILA Petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to NFA Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Today, the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) filed a Petition for Certiorari requesting that the U.S. Supreme Court hear a challenge to the National Firearms Act of 1934’s restrictions on short-barreled rifles ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Challenge to Machinegun Possession Ban

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Challenge to Machinegun Possession Ban

Yesterday, the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and FPC Action Foundation filed an amicus brief arguing that the federal prohibition on machinegun possession is unconstitutional as applied to the defendant in the Fifth Circuit case, United States ...

ATF Updates “Brady Permit Chart,” Reduces Need for Redundant NICS Checks

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

ATF Updates “Brady Permit Chart,” Reduces Need for Redundant NICS Checks

We have been reporting on recent reforms by ATF to make its operations more transparent, professional, and public safety focused and less openly hostile to law abiding gun owners and the industries that serve them. 

Anti-gun Shakedown Machine Now Targets Toy Gun Sellers

News  

Monday, June 2, 2025

Anti-gun Shakedown Machine Now Targets Toy Gun Sellers

The pro-Second Amendment community understands that guns are not toys.

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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.