A ballot measure proposed in Colorado could allow people who use marijuana to carry concealed weapons in public.
Guns for Everyone’s measure will be heard by the Legislative Council Staff on Tuesday. The campaign will need to file a draft initiative with the Secretary of State after the meeting, and any revisions made to the text. This would allow activists to begin collecting the 124,238 valid signatures needed to qualify for 2024’s ballot.
Guns for Everyone’s co-founder Edgar Antillon is confident that the campaign will be well received by the voters of the state.
He told ABC affiliate Denver 7., “I believe this is something that most Coloradans support.” It’s a right that everyone should be able to enjoy.
Second Amendment advocates, who offer free concealed carry classes in the state, and are usually opposed to gun control measures see the issue as one of freedom and fairness.
Antillon stated, “It is one of the silly things that have been going on since a long time.” “We legalize pot, but don’t allow them to defend themselves. Alcoholics can defend themselves. Why not marijuana users?”
This change will create a split in Colorado gun laws from federal gun laws by removing the reference that concealed carry permit applicants are denied if federal gun law does not allow them to own a firearm. The change would also include an explicit exception for marijuana users to a section that prohibits concealed carry permits from being issued to illegal users of controlled drugs.
According to the proposal a sheriff will not deny a permit based on a permit applicant using marijuana lawfully [under state laws].” This is stated in the one-page document. It also states that the state’s law will determine whether marijuana is illegal for a permit applicant, rather than federal law as it is currently done.
—
Marijuana Moment tracks more than 1,000 cannabis and psychedelics bills, as well as drug policy legislation in state legislatures. Patreon supporters who pledge at least $25/month gain access to our interactive charts, maps and hearing calendar.
Discover more about our marijuana bills tracker. Become a Patreon supporter to gain access.
—
A person who is an “unlawful” user of a controlled substance (including marijuana) cannot legally purchase or possess a firearm.
However, enforcement of the rule has been inconsistent. Attorneys representing President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden who was charged by the Department of Justice with illegally possessing a gun while using illegal drugs have argued that thousands of marijuana users living in states where it is legal already own guns.
The younger Biden’s legal team has claimed that even the prosecutor in the case acknowledged that “an average citizen would not have been prosecuted for the offense, as is supported by DOJ’s policy and statistical data.”
A little-noticed FBI memo from 2019, which recently surfaced, shows that the federal government generally does not view it as a crime for medical cannabis caregivers or growers to own guns .
In recent years, the statute that backed the prohibition was challenged by a number federal courts. More than one court ruled the restriction unconstitutional. DOJ has maintained the ban but argued that medical marijuana users and regular consumers present unique dangers for society, which justify withholding Second Amendment Rights.
The Biden administration claimed that cannabis consumers with guns pose a unique danger to society, in part because they’re “unlikely” to store their weapon properly. The Biden administration argued that cannabis consumers who own guns are a special danger to society. This is because they’re ‘unlikely’ to store their weapons properly.
The federal government has claimed repeatedly that these analogues support limiting the gun rights of cannabis users. But a number of federal courts have ruled the marijuana-related prohibition unconstitutional. This has led DOJ to appeal several cases.
In October, the Justice Department made similar arguments during oral argument in a related but separate case before the U.S. Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit. This case is about the Second Amendment rights for medical cannabis patients living in Florida.
The attorneys in both cases also mentioned a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Fifth Circuit from August, Daniels v. United States. This decision found that the ban prohibiting people who use cannabis from possessing firearms was unconstitutional.
DOJ had informed the Eleventh Circuit Court that it believed the ruling to be “incorrectly determined,”, and the department’s lawyer reiterated the government’s view that “there are reasons to doubt the foundations” in the appeals court’s decision.
In February, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma ruled that the prohibition against people using marijuana possessing firearms was unconstitutional. The judge stated that the federal government’s justification for maintaining the law is “concerning.”
In U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, a judge ruled in April that banning people who use marijuana from possessing firearms is unconstitutional–and it said the same legal principle also applies to the sale and transfer of guns.
ATF wrote to Arkansas officials in August to warn them that the recently passed law allowing medical cannabis patients to get concealed carry licenses was “unacceptable” and could compromise the state’s alternative firearm licensing policy, which has been approved by the federal government.
issued a warning shortly after Minnesota’s Governor signed into law a legalization measure in May. The agency reminded that cannabis users are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms and ammunition until the federal prohibition is lifted.
ATF will issue an advisory in 2020 that specifically targets Michigan and requires gun sellers conduct federal background checks for all unlicensed buyers. It said Michigan’s cannabis laws allowed “habitual marijuana consumers” and other disqualified persons to obtain firearms without a license.
Attorneys for Hunter Biden have cited the previous court ruling on the constitutionality of the federal gun ban and argued that it also applies to the case of their client.
Two Republican members of Congress have introduced two bills in this session, focusing on marijuana and gun policy.
Rep. Brian Mast, co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and a member of the House of Representatives, introduced legislation in May that would protect the Second Amendment right of marijuana users in states where the drug is legal. This legislation would allow them to buy and possess firearms, which they are currently prohibited to have under federal law.
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) has promised to attach that legislation to the bipartisan marijuana banking Bill, which advanced out of Committee last month and awaits floor action.
Mast is also co-sponsoring in this session a separate Bill from Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), which would allow medical marijuana patients to buy and possess firearms.
Jersey City, New Jersey is one place where this issue is of particular relevance. Mayor Steven M. Fulop, (D), is suing the state over its policy which allows police officers to smoke marijuana when they are not on duty.
This challenge has, however, sparked pushback by two police officers who have sued Jersey City for what they claim is a political motivated move made by Fulop to serve a future gubernatorial election.
The post Colorado Ballot Initiative Allows Marijuana Users to Get Concealed Carry Permits for Guns first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
