[imagesource:pexels]

The notoriously gun-mad country has become embroiled in another twist regarding gun laws as United States gun-owners are now allowed to engage in skop, skiet en donder, as well as skop, skiet en dwelms too.

In a significant legal development, a federal appeals court in the US has declared a decades-old law unconstitutional when applied to a marijuana user’s firearm ownership.

The verdict adds to the reverberations stemming from a pivotal US Supreme Court decision last year, which expanded individual gun rights. In June 2022 the watershed legal decision was made to affirm that the Second Amendment encompasses an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defence in public spaces.

Now the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, came to a firm conclusion to overrule the federal law which forbids illegal drug users from possessing firearms, claiming that the old school legislature encroaches upon the fundamental “keep and bear arms” rights enshrined in the Second Amendment of the US Constitution.

The central figure in this legal saga surrounding dagga and guns is Patrick Daniels, a resident of Mississippi. Daniels faced conviction after law enforcement discovered a pistol and semi-automatic rifle within his vehicle during a routine traffic stop.

Complicating matters further, remnants of smoked-up spliffs were also found in Daniels’ car.

However, the US Drug Enforcement Administration did not administer a drug test on the trigger-happy stoner. While he openly admitted to occasional marijuana use, the absence of a drug test added a layer of nuance to the case.

Daniels was then smacked with a substantial prison sentence of nearly four years, leading to a courtroom battle that has sent ripples through the country’s legal system. Lucky for Daniels, the ruling judge for the case let him off lightly.

Drawing from the precedent set by the Supreme Court, Judge Smith emphatically stated that the statute was invalid when applied to Daniels. His reasoning? Historical context may justify certain limitations on an intoxicated person’s right to carry a weapon, but it cannot warrant disarming a sober citizen based solely on past drug usage.

Puff-puff pop-pop pass seems to be the new name of the game.

[source:timeslive]