• t3rmit3@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    To be clear, the gun charge is actually a drug charge: it’s illegal to own a firearm if you ever use an illegal drug, which was a racist law (1968 Gun Control Act) put in place as a way to go after groups like the Black Panthers, as well as anti-war groups during Vietnam.

    Without them knowing that he had used drugs, it would not have been illegal for him to possess the gun.

    In fact, a federal judge just ruled that that particular prohibition is unconstitutional on the grounds that there was no ‘historical precedent’ for it, which is the new test under Bruen.

    • cnnrduncan@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Wild, thanks for the context! Seems like the kind of thing that should be more widely included alongside the reporting on his charges/pleading IMO.