UNITED STATES: The US Supreme Court’s recent expansion of gun rights may give President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, a legal advantage when he challenges his arrest on firearms-related crimes.
On Tuesday in Delaware, Hunter Biden is anticipated to enter a not guilty plea to charges of illegally owning a firearm while using drugs and of lying about his drug usage on a background check form when he purchased a Colt Cobra revolver in 2018.
The Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen case established a new standard for evaluating gun restrictions, stating they must align with the US’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
After a failed plea deal, Special Counsel David Weiss indicted Hunter Biden in September, with Biden’s defence attorney, Abbe Lowell, suggesting he may contest some of the indictment.
As per reports, Hunter Biden, who has admitted to cocaine use, is expected to request that US District Judge Maryellen Noreika drop the possession charge, arguing that the federal law prohibiting illegal drug users from owning firearms has no precedent and violates his Second Amendment right “to keep and bear arms”.
Republicans often oppose gun restrictions, while Democrats typically support them. These typical political dynamics would be upset by any attempt by a Democratic president’s son to invalidate a federal weapons law like the one at issue in this case.
In response to the Bruen judgement, the president, who has long advocated for stricter gun control in a country plagued by widespread gun violence, said that the decision should “deeply trouble us all.” The Bruen judgement was praised by many Republican senators who have been harshly critical of Hunter Biden.
The extent to which the Bruen decision allows courts to invalidate gun laws will be determined by current court cases.
In light of the Bruen precedent, one US appeals court has already determined that the drug-related statute at issue in Biden’s case might be illegal in some situations.
In an August decision concerning a marijuana user, the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals determined that US history and tradition “do not justify disarming a sober citizen solely based on his past drug usage.”
This decision could be used by Biden’s attorneys to refute the possession of drugs charge.
Federal prosecutors are likely to claim that 19th century limits on intoxicated persons owning firearms and legislation disarming groups deemed dangerous provide historical justification for the allegation against Hunter Biden.
The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta is scheduled to hear a challenge to the federal ban on illegal drug users carrying firearms on Thursday.
The Supreme Court is set to issue a ruling on gun restriction in a Texas case involving domestic violence restraining orders. The ruling, expected by June, could determine the risk level for those prohibited from possessing firearms. The outcome could significantly impact a Biden case.
Also Read: US President’s Son Hunter Biden Enters Guilty Plea for Tax Crimes, Strikes Deal on Gun Charge
