Supreme Court weakens gun law used to convict Hunter Biden
WASHINGTON, DC: The Supreme Court on Thursday, June 18, unanimously ruled that the government cannot criminally prosecute a man solely because he possessed a firearm despite regularly smoking marijuana, weakening a federal law used to convict former President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden.
Hunter Biden faced firearm charges, which stemmed from his 2018 purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver while struggling with addiction.
Supreme Court ruling expands Second Amendment protections
The Supreme Court, in a 9-0 ruling written by Republican-appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch, agreed that the prosecution of Ali Danial Hemani violated his Second Amendment rights.
The 2022 framework requires gun control measures to be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
“To square that expansive theory with the Second Amendment, the government invites us to draw an analogy between its present regulation and historical laws addressing habitual drunkards,” Gorsuch wrote.
“Those laws, the government contends, demonstrate a tradition of firearm regulation consistent with its effort to disarm any regular user of any controlled substance without any further showing,” he continued. “But the government’s analogy fails under every measure it asks us to consider.”
However, the ruling did not address whether people who are actively under the influence of marijuana can be barred from purchasing or possessing guns.
Court leaves broader firearm restrictions unresolved
SCOTUS strikes down the Hunter Biden law (drug addicts can't buy guns). Classic Clarence Thomas concurrence pic.twitter.com/OFBgccGOdG
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) June 18, 2026
Justice Neil Gorsuch said that the decision is limited in scope and does not strike down the federal law entirely.
However, the ruling could make it more difficult for prosecutors to use the statute against people accused of possessing guns while using stimulants, particularly casual users.
Gorsuch also stressed that the court was not deciding broader questions about whether people with addictions can be barred from owning firearms.
Ali Hemani, a dual US-Pakistani citizen, was charged after the FBI found a handgun during a search of his home in 2022.
The FBI found a Glock 9 mm pistol and marijuana at Hemani’s place. They also found stimulants, but the gun charge relies only on the marijuana.
Like other defendants charged under the same law, including Hunter Biden before he was pardoned by his father, Hemani argued that the statute is unconstitutional under the Supreme Court’s 2022 Second Amendment framework.
