The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling Thursday, siding with a Texas marijuana user who wants to legally own a gun.The judge ruled in favor of Ali Daniel Hermani, arguing that the law prohibiting illegal drug users from possessing guns violated the Second Amendment. Hermani has not been charged with any other crimes or with using a weapon while intoxicated.The decision marks a setback for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican administration, which has defended the 1968 law while opposing other gun restrictions.The statute was also cited in the case against Hunter Biden, who was convicted in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2018 of purchasing a gun while using cocaine. He was later pardoned by his father, then-President Joe Biden, a Democrat.The ruling comes amid a flurry of gun cases before the Supreme Court since its landmark 2022 decision expanding gun rights, which triggered a wave of legal challenges across the country.Courts have since upheld a law designed to protect victims of domestic violence and maintained strict regulations on ghost gun kits while lifting a ban on bump-fire stocks, an accessory that enables rapid fire. This semester alone, judges are hearing two gun cases.Cannabis laws have also changed significantly in recent years, with more than half of U.S. states now legalizing some form of cannabis and its medical uses becoming widespread.However, recreational use remains illegal under federal law, even after the Trump administration reclassified medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug in April.Standalone criminal charges involving gun possession and drug use are relatively rare and are more often filed in conjunction with other crimes.The case has sparked unusual political alliances. The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association have backed Hemani, as have marijuana advocacy groups like NORML. On the opposing side are gun safety groups like Everytown, which are often at odds with the Trump administration on Second Amendment issues.(with AP input)
