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Judge strikes down federal gun control law, second major loss for Biden admin in less than a week

Government cannot ban firearm possession based on drug possession, court rules.

Published: February 7, 2023 1:14pm

Updated: February 7, 2023 1:26pm

A U.S. district court struck down a significant federal gun control law this week, the second major gun loss for the Biden White House this month alone. 

Federal statute has for years prohibited individuals from owning firearms if they are "an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance." In May of last year, Oklahoma resident Jared Harrison was indicted under that statute for having been found in possession of both a revolver and marijuana. 

In his ruling this week, U.S. District Judge Patrick Wyrick agreed with Harrison that the rule is "unconstitutionally vague" and constitutionally violative. 

Wyrick's ruling was based off of last year's Supreme Court decision NYSRPA v. Bruen, which held that U.S. gun regulations must be "consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

The judge in his written opinion expressed heavy skepticism that the framers of the U.S. Constitution would support such broad bans on what the Biden administration claims are "presumptively risky persons."

Wyrick argued that, under such a reading, "the Second Amendment would provide virtually no limit on Congress’s discretion."

"The Framers weren’t perfect, but they also weren’t fools," he said. 

The Oklahoma decision comes less than a week after an appeals court struck down a law barring gun ownership for those with domestic violence restraining orders against them.

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