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SCOTUS Rules Gun Restriction On Unlawful Drug Users To Be Inconsistent With Second Amendment
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held on Thursday that the federal governments use of a federal law restricting gun possession for certain unlawful drug users to be inconsistent with the Second Amendment.

The Second Amendment protects the right of all Americans to keep and bear firearms for self defense, the courts narrow ruling reads. Affording the government broad power to designate any group as dangerous and thereby disqualify its members from having a gun would risk allowing it to quickly swallow the Second Amendment.

CA: SAF Files Lawsuit Challenging Contra Costa County's Carry Bans
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed a federal lawsuit in California challenging Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office policies that prohibit permit holders from carrying handguns equipped with red dot sights or flashlights, as well as their outright ban on the carry of single action only (SAO) 1911- and 2011-style pistols.

The policies, enforced by Sheriff David Livingston, are unique in the nation. To SAF's knowledge, no other county or city in California or anywhere else in the United States imposes such restrictions on law-abiding carry permit holders.

MI: Man Found Not Guilty In Shooting Outside Wayne County Karaoke Bar
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They were both treated at a nearby hospital for critical injuries, according to prosecutors.

Lindsay fled the scene, but turned himself in to police later that day, according to prosecutors.

Lindsay's lawyers argued the shooting was self-defense. They showed jurors a video of Lindsay being dragged out of his Jeep by the two men before the shooting, WWJ News reported.

To claim self-defense in a shooting, a CPL holder must "honestly and reasonably" believe that deadly force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to yourself or to another person, according to Michigan law.

Prosecutors said Lindsay is a CPL holder.

FL: 18-year-olds in Florida gain full adult gun rights after court decision
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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A unanimous appeals court decision in Florida found that restricting the gun rights of 18- to 20-year-olds would make the Second Amendment a second-class right.

A three-judge panel of Floridas Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that adults ages 18 to 20 should have the same Second Amendment rights as those over 20, finding the states concealed carry ban for the younger ages to be unconstitutional.

Eighteen- to 20-year-olds can defend the country without restriction but can only utilize their Second Amendment right to self-defense with severe restrictions, Judge Spencer D. Levine wrote in the courts opinion.

CA: Man using walker stabs suspect in self-defense in northeast Fresno, police say
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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A man using a walker ended up stabbing someone in northeast Fresno on Thursday in what police are calling an act of self-defense.

It happened on San Ramon Avenue near 4th Street just before 9 am Thursday.

Police say a 65-year-old man using a walker was approached by a 45-year-old man with a wrench.

Authorities say the older man was hit with the wrench multiple times and eventually used his walker as self-defense.

CO: Colorado Supreme Court: Workers Cant Be Fired for Defending Themselves on the Job
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled this week that employers cannot automatically fire a worker for defending themselves on the job. I see it as a solid win for the principle that your right to self-defense follows you to work.

The case began with Mary Ann Moreno, a 72-year-old clerk at a Circle K. In October 2020, a man named Tyler Wimmer came to her register carrying two hunting knives and told her to hand over cigarettes for free. Moreno, who was unarmed, refused. Wimmer then walked around the counter toward her with the knives, and a brief confrontation followed. He grabbed a pack of cigarettes, left the store, and was later arrested. He pleaded guilty to menacing with a deadly weapon.

Survey: More Americans Are Carrying Concealed Guns
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Firearms sales went through the roof during COVID and 2020's social unrest as people scrambled to deal with a world that seemed to be coming apart at the seams. Previously thought ofwith a great deal of exaggerationas the domain of white male rural-dwellers, gun ownership became increasingly diverse as women and minorities acquired the means of self-defense. A recent survey finds that many people among the growing ranks of gun owners are carrying their tools for protection.

KS: Kobach celebrates this SCOTUS decision on marijuana and guns
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobachs opposition to marijuana and support for the Second Amendment collided Thursday, and guns won. Kobach, who has lobbied against legalization of marijuana and initiated raids on smoke and vape shops allegedly selling THC products, celebrated a unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that clarified that recreational drug users who are otherwise law-abiding citizens do not forfeit their right to own and possess guns.

TN: Cordova Domestic Standoff: Shelby County Clears Detained Resident in Self-Defense Shooting
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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From the earliest stages of the inquiry, homicide detectives noted that the trajectory of the physical evidence and initial statements indicated a domestic-related dispute that had turned physically aggressive.

Over the course of a multi-day investigation, forensic crime scene technicians mapped out the physical layout of the struggle, validating the detained residents timeline of events. Investigators ultimately determined that the resident had faced an imminent threat of severe bodily harm or death during the domestic assault, leaving him with no viable option but to deploy a firearm to preserve his own safety.

Supreme Court rules government cant restrict gun rights for casual drug use
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Gorsuch wrote that the ruling is a narrow one, which does not address broader issues raised about banning drug addicts from possessing firearms.

The court rejected the federal governments claim that anyone who uses marijuana is a danger to others, all based on the governments own assessment, he added.

We appreciate drugs and guns can sometimes make for a dangerous mix, Gorsuch wrote.

But the governments reliance on historical laws that disarmed habitual drunkards misses the mark, he added.

Court sides with challenger to law banning drug users from possessing guns
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Writing for the court, Gorsuch emphasized that the government was seeking to automatically strip Mr. Hemani of his Second Amendment right to possess a firearm and imprison him for up to 15 years based only on a showing that he regularly uses any amount of any controlled substance. But the governments arguments fell short, Gorsuch concluded, because the early American laws on which the government relied to support these restrictions targeted different kinds of people, did so for different reasons, and operated in different ways.

Supreme Court justice wants to scrap 'failed' Second Amendment test
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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A Supreme Court that is often ideologically divided on gun control issues nonetheless unanimously agreed June 18 that a federal law aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people went too far.

But two of the courts three liberal justices still want a course correction on how the court evaluates gun regulations.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the "historical tradition" test for gun rules that the court created in its landmark 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen is unworkable.

Supreme Court sides with marijuana user stripped of gun rights
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a marijuana user on Thursday by limiting the application of a federal law that bars drug users from owning guns, finding that certain prosecutions under the measure intrude on the U.S. Constitutions Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

The justices, in 9-0 ruling, upheld a lower courts decision to dismiss an illegal gun possession charge brought under the law at issue against Ali Hemani, an American-Pakistani dual citizen and resident of Texas who told authorities he was a regular marijuana user.

SCOTUS Says Federal Prosecution of Marijuana-Using Gun Owner Violates the Second Amendment
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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The decision came in the case of United States v. Hemani. "We do not question that sometimes an individual's unlawful use of marijuana (or any other controlled substance) may render him a danger to others," observed the majority opinion of Justice Neil Gorsuch. But here the government "asks us to conclude that anyone who regularly uses marijuana is categorically violent and dangerous without any further showing."

And that was simply too much to ask of the Court. To allow "the government that kind of 'broad power to designate any group as dangerous and thereby disqualify its members from having a gun,'" Gorsuch wrote, "would risk allowing it to 'quickly swallow' the Second Amendment."

Supreme Court sides with Texas marijuana user who was barred from owning guns
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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The decision was unanimous.

The Courts decision is narrow, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote. It does not address efforts to ban addicts or those presently intoxicated from possessing a firearm; other prophylactic laws Congress might adopt after determining that users of a particular drug pose a special risk of misusing firearms provision disarming individuals convicted of felonies; or whether the government could bring a prosecution accompanied by individualized proof that the defendants drug use renders him a danger to himself or others, or proof that a certain drug always renders its users dangerous.

Supreme Court: Law Cited in Hunter Biden Case Violates the Second Amendment
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Until a few years ago, 18 U. S. C. § 922(g)(3) was a fairly obscure, if potent, weapon in the federal prosecutors toolkit. The law bans anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance from buying, owning, or possessing a gun. That makes it an easy offense to prove and lets prosecutors throw stiff sentences at people involved in drugs and guns without, say, proving that they are drug dealers or have committed violent drug crimes. For a twofer, because drug users are not likely to confess to using illegal drugs and buying guns illegally, a user who buys a gun through legal channels can be brought up on additional charges of lying on required forms ...

Supreme Court: Marijuana Users Don't (Necessarily) Lose Their Gun Rights
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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"The federal statute, as the court rightly held, casts too wide a net," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb in an email to Guns.com on Thursday. "This one-size-fits-all approach to law enforcement has never worked. As we noted in our brief, historically, the government has never prohibited sober people from owning firearms because they sometimes drank alcohol. The same logic applies here, especially since so many states now allow recreational marijuana use, and its use as a prescribed medical aid is widely recognized."

Hemani was represented by the ACLU in conjunction with the CLEAR clinic at the CUNY School of Law, Clement & Murphy, and Newland Legal.

Supreme Court Makes It Clear There Is No Drug Exception to the Second Amendment
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled that the government may not strip people of their Second Amendment rights or prosecute them for illegal gun possession simply because they are marijuana users. In United States v. Hemani, the Court held that neither policy is "consistent with this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation," the constitutional test established by its 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.

FL: Florida court says adults under 21 have same gun rights as other adults
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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In a victory for gun rights activists, a Florida appeals court has ruled that adults under age 21 have the right to carry a concealed weapon, declaring that a state law restricting them from doing so is a violation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal in Broward County came Wednesday after Attorney General James Uthmeier said his office would not defend the law. After the ruling, Uthmeier said it will not be appealed.

The Second Amendment is for potheads, too
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Those laws, Gorsuch wrote, targeted different kinds of people, did so for different purposes, and operated in different ways.

Justice Samuel Alito, in a concurrence joined by Justice Elena Kagan in an unusual cross-ideological alliance, took a simpler approach. In their view, the governments argument fails because historic laws targeting drunkards focused not on the fact that a person with a gun also drank, but on how inebriated they would habitually become. Back then, Alito wrote, the laws prohibited gun possession by people who regularly got smashed to the point that they couldnt exercise proper judgement.

Supreme Court Hands Down Significant Second Amendment Victory
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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In a major victory for gun owners, the U.S. Supreme Court has released its opinion in United States v. Hemani, a case challenging the lifetime firearms ban for marijuana users.

SAF filed an amicus brief in support of Hemani which explained that firearm possession by marijuana users affects millions of law-abiding Americans who face losing their Second Amendment rights simply for using a substance that is state-legal and widely accepted, often for medical reasons. Marijuana is currently legal to various extent in 40 states. In todays decision, the Court affirmed the Fifth Circuits ruling that the lifetime ban for marijuana users is unconstitutional and secured a victory for Second Amendment advocates and firearms owners nationwide.

Neil Gorsuchs New Gun-Rights Decision Is a Love Letter to Legal Weed
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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The Supreme Court affirmed a marijuana users right to bear arms on Thursday, holding that criminal charges against him for owning a gun while using cannabis violate the Second Amendment. The unanimous decision in United States v. Hemani rejected the federal governments authority to disarm consumers of marijuana absent evidence that they regularly used the drug to the point of incapacity. In doing so, the justices frankly acknowledged the widespread legal and social acceptance of cannabis in America todaya remarkable turnabout for a court that has long treated all drug users as presumptively dangerous criminals.

Supreme Court sides with a marijuana user who was barred from owning guns
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Therefore, said Gorsuch, the only thing before the court is the government's "ambitious theory" that could "could automatically strip Mr. Hemani of his Second Amendment right to own a gun because he uses marijuana a few times week." The court's answer was basically, no you can't do that.

The decision was unanimous, though several justices filed concurring opinions.

So, was this a big win for gun rights advocates?

"It's a good question" said Stephen Stamboulieh, a lawyer for Gun Owners of America. "I think it's a pretty significant win when we have basically the entire court saying that a federal statute can't go as far as it tried to go.

FL: Florida Concealed Carry Law Violates Second Amendment, Court Rules
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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A Florida law disqualifying 18- to 20-year-olds from legal concealed carry violated the Second Amendment, a Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Eighteen- to 20-year-olds can defend the country without restriction but can only utilize their Second Amendment right to self-defense with severe restrictions, the three-judge panel stated in its opinion.

Police arrested 18-year-old Jaylen Tyrus Eubanks in 2024 for carrying a concealed firearm in violation of Florida law that restricts licensing provisions of concealed carry to eligible United States citizens 21 years or older.

Supreme Court Rejects Gun Ban for Marijuana User in Major 2A Win
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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The Supreme Court just handed gun owners a significant Second Amendment win in United States v. Hemani, and it did so by rejecting one of the federal governments favorite tricks: turning a broad status label into a lifetime gun ban.

On June 18, 2026, with a unanimous 9-0 decision, the Court affirmed the Fifth Circuit and held that the governments prosecution of Ali Danial Hemani under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3)s unlawful user provision was inconsistent with the Second Amendment. That statute bars firearm possession by anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

The Survey Says: Dems Largely Dismissive of 2A Threat Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
A new poll by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research on personal freedoms and whether they are under threat reveals once again that Democrats are largely dismissive of any peril facing the Second Amendment, at the same time party leaders have been leading the charge to erode the right to keep and bear arms (RKBA).

WA: Washington Supreme Court Upholds DUI Gun Ban in McLellan v. Brown
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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The Washington Supreme Court ruled on June 11, 2026 that the state can strip gun rights from anyone convicted of two DUIs within seven years. The 5-to-4 decision upheld House Bill 1562, a 2023 law that dramatically expanded the categories of offenses triggering firearm prohibition. Four dissenting justices issued a blistering rebuke, accusing the majority of authorizing preemptive disarmament based on speculation rather than actual violent conduct.