The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on Monday in United States vs. Hemani, challenging a law barring illegal drug users from owning guns. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI. | License Photo
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on Monday in a case challenging the rights of illegal drug users to own guns.
The case, the United States vs. Hemani, stems from the arrest of 25-year-old Ali Hemani in Texas in 2023. He was charged with possessing a firearm as a drug user under the Gun Control Act of 1968.
The Supreme Court on Monday is weighing whether a law barring drug users from owning firearms is constitutional.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 was passed after the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.
Solicitor General John Sauer said in court documents that the law is meant to disarm “dangerous persons.” He argues that “habitual drug users” are considered dangerous persons.
Attorneys for Hemani argue that the law vaguely defines what an unlawful user of drugs is, noting that millions of Americans use marijuana and it is legal in 40 states, including 24 for recreational use.
The law was also used to convict Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, in 2024. He was pardoned by his father before he left office.
“There is no historical tradition in this nation of stripping anyone who consumes an intoxicant a few times a week of the right to keep a firearm in the home for self-defense,” Hemani’s attorneys say.
Hemani became the target of law enforcement investigation due to regularly communicating with his brother who was attending a university in Iran.
Hemani, a Pakistani-American, kept a firearm in a locked safe and admitted to using marijuana. Recreational marijuana use is illegal in Texas.
During a search of Hemani’s home, which he shared with his parents, FBI agents found cocaine in his parents’ closet.
Hemani’s case has drawn support from the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Rifle Association and the Drug Policy Alliance.
This week in Washington
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a press conference after the weekly Republican Senate caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
