The Supreme Court will hear an appeal from the Justice Department seeking to uphold 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), which bans anyone who is “an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” from owning a firearm. This comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found the statute violated the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.
In its petition to the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice stated, “The Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right that is essential to ordered liberty. Unjustifiable restrictions on that right present a grave threat to Americans’ most cherished freedoms.” The petition further emphasized the need for judicial protection, noting, “Courts should exercise the utmost vigilance in guarding that right from legislative or regulatory infringement. There are, however, narrow circumstances in which the government may justifiably burden that right, and Section 922(g)(3) provides such a circumstance.”
The appeals court sided with Ali Hemani’s challenge to his single-count indictment under this statute. Hemani argued that the law was unconstitutional based on the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in *New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen*, where the high court held that gun regulations must align with the country’s historical traditions regarding firearm laws.
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear this case marks the second major gun rights case the justices have agreed to take up this term. Earlier in the month, the Court also agreed to hear a challenge to a Hawaii law that severely restricts where handgun owners may carry their weapons, in the case *Wolford v. Lopez*.
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As of now, the Supreme Court has yet to schedule oral arguments for either *United States v. Hemani* or *Wolford v. Lopez*. Both cases are expected to be argued before the justices sometime between January and April 2026. Decisions in both cases are anticipated to be released by the end of June 2026.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/supreme-court/3856818/supreme-court-drug-users-gun-ownership/