The U.S. Justice Department is again defending the federal law prohibiting people who use marijuana from owning or possessing firearms—in part by drawing a contrast between those affiliated with gangs and a hypothetical “frail and elderly grandmother” who uses medical cannabis.
In a brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit last week, attorneys for DOJ said judges should uphold the earlier denial of a motion to dismiss the case, U.S. vs. Baxter, where the defendant was convicted of violating a statute known as Section 922(g)(3).
As in multiple related cannabis and gun cases, the Justice Department argued that disarming people who use marijuana does not constitute a violation of the Second Amendment because the law is grounded in historical precedent with the country’s founding. Specifically, the federal government claimed there are relevant historical analogues prohibiting gun ownership by the mentally ill, those who induce terror and “habitual drunkards.”
“Because Baxter’s marijuana use makes him a particularly dangerous gun possessor, this Court should affirm the denial of his motion to dismiss,” DOJ said.
In defending its position, the department made repeated references to an earlier case that went before the Eighth Circuit, U.S. vs. Veasley, in which
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