Story perspectives

Supreme Court Strikes Down Federal Gun Ban for Drug Users

6/19/2026

Center

Gorsuch Strikes Ban

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a unanimous opinion striking down the federal gun ban for drug users.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 1968 law banning drug users from firearms unconstitutional, overturning Texas-resident Ali Danial Hemani’s conviction.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and National Rifle Association backed Hemani while Everytown opposed.
The Court applied the 2022 Bruen historical-tradition test, finding the ban unlinked to earlier regulations.

Left

Supreme Court Rulings

Justices warned the decisions could shrink 14th Amendment equal-protection, endangering other vulnerable populations systemically significantly.
The U.S. Supreme Court will issue rulings on two transgender-athlete cases as Pride Month ends.
The majority held the statute automatically strips gun rights without proving danger, unlike drunkard laws.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson linked case to rulings striking down marriage bans.

Blindspot

Left coverage gave less weight to the unanimous gun-rights decision, including Justice Gorsuch’s opinion, the ACLU and NRA briefs, and the application of the Bruen historical-tradition test.
Center coverage did not include the transgender-athlete cases and the related 14th-Amendment equal-protection arguments highlighted by the Left.

History

Historical Context

On June 26 2008 the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Scalia and joined by Chief Justice Roberts, ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to keep a handgun for home self-defense in District of Columbia v. Heller. The holding spurred later cases—McDonald (2010), Bruen (2022) and Justice Gorsuch’s 2024 opinion overturning a 1968 drug-user gun ban—through the same historical-tradition analysis.

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Gorsuch Strikes Ban

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a unanimous opinion striking down the federal gun ban for drug users.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 1968 law banning drug users from firearms unconstitutional, overturning Texas-resident Ali Danial Hemani’s conviction.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and National Rifle Association backed Hemani while Everytown opposed.
The Court applied the 2022 Bruen historical-tradition test, finding the ban unlinked to earlier regulations.

1 / 4