Pennsylvania police officials are being sued over a state law that blocks people with past convictions for possessing marijuana or other illegal drugs from obtaining licenses to carry guns. The new lawsuit, filed in federal court, cites a recent Supreme Court decision to uphold the gun rights of people who use cannabis.
U.S. Air Force veteran Craig Philips is suing the acting commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police and the sheriff of Butler County in their official capacities in carrying out a state policy that denies people with drug convictions, including for simple possession, from obtaining a Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms (LTCF).
According to the complaint, which was filed in conjunction with the Second Amendment advocacy groups Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners Foundation, Philips was convicted of possession of a small amount of cannabis in 1994 and “has not used marijuana or other unlawful drugs” since then, nor has he ever been convicted of any other crimes.
Yet under state law he is “permanently ineligible” for a LTCF.
While Philips is not prohibited from owning or possessing firearms under state or federal laws, the inability to obtain a LTCF means he is “substantially restricted from carrying or transporting a firearm in a vehicle, carrying a firearm in Philadelphia, carrying a firearm for protection during a declared state of emergency, and exercising the right to bear arms in ordinary public life,” the complaint says.
“The denial of Plaintiff Philips’ LTCF therefore burdens not only concealed carry, but the practical ability to bear arms outside the home for lawful self-defense,” it says.
Under recent Supreme Court precedent, “historical tradition does not support permanently denying the right to bear arms to a person based upon the nonviolent offense of Possession of a Small Amount of Marijuana occurring over three decades prior,” the filing claims.
“No current facts support any finding that Plaintiff Philips is dangerous to himself or others,” it says. “Defendants cannot historically justify that infringement based on a single marijuana conviction from 1994 where Plaintiff Philips has since lived as a law-abiding citizen and remains eligible to possess firearms.”
The Supreme Court, for its part, has already started applying its finding in the marijuana and Second Amendment rights case to those involving other cannabis consumers who were prosecuted for possessing firearms.
A recent poll, meanwhile, found that most Americans support the Supreme Court’s decision on gun rights for cannabis consumers—including majorities across party lines.
Also, a federal agency that regulates guns says it is planning to provide guidance in the wake of the court ruling on the Second Amendment rights of people who use marijuana.
Pennsylvania lawmakers, meanwhile, continue to debate whether to legalize recreational marijuana.
Read the full lawsuit on gun rights and marijuana convictions below:
The post Pennsylvania’s Ban On Gun Licenses Over Marijuana Convictions Is Being Challenged In A New Federal Lawsuit appeared first on Marijuana Moment.
