The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals just handed down a noteworthy decision for those who strayed from the straight and narrow at some point in their lives.
To be clear, no gun rights advocate wants firearms in the hands of violent criminals. But there are millions of Americans who previously encountered the judicial system, and non-violent offenders are a far different breed from those who prey on innocent lives.
Unanimous ruling rejects permanently stripping 2A freedoms for non-violent infractions
The Fifth Circuit, in a 3-0 decision, concluded that Charles Hembree was unconstitutionally denied his right to keep and bear arms. The defendant was convicted in a Mississippi court in 2018 of possession of methamphetamine.
There was no violent act related to his charge, no trafficking, and no gun infraction. Merely a single possession conviction.
The court relied heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision as the foundation for its ruling. Gun control laws and regulations must be aligned with the nation’s historical tradition of governing Second Amendment-related issues.
Federal gun control law did not pass the Bruen test
In their unanimous judgement, the prerequisites demanded by Bruen are nowhere near being met. Therefore, the law cannot stand.
Government attorneys attempted to create an analogy between modern firearm restrictions and 17th-century punishments for crimes such as fraud and counterfeiting. The panel rejected this argument, noting that there is little or no correlation between these offenses and personal consumption of illegal substances.
Judges further determined that crimes demanding that gun rights be rescinded should include such offenses as criminal violence, theft, or violating the terms of supervised release.
Once again, a federal court found that a defendant guilty of only non-violent drug possession or other similar infractions does not automatically lose their Second Amendment rights forever. The law was an overblown response that deserved a second look.
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