Medical Marijuana Card Holder Gun Sales Ban Is Unconstitutionally Upheld By Appeals Court

Today’s go-to move is to exchange one fundamental right for another, and in the case of medical marijuana card holders in West Coast states like California, Oregon, and Washington, that’s just what they’ll do in order to maintain their weed access.

A ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the ban on gun sales to medical marijuana card holders by claiming that this ban does not violate the Second Amendment rights of the citizens it impacts. Unfortunately, those fraudulent claims couldn’t be further from the truth, as citizens in the United States should not have to give up one right — especially not the Second Amendment — in order to obtain a new one.

This whole situation came about as a result of a lawsuit filed by S. Rowan Wilson, a Nevada woman who tried to buy a firearm in 2011 after obtaining a medical marijuana card. After the gun store refused due to the federal rule on the sale of firearms to illegal drug users, Wilson hired an attorney to fight the decision.

Medical marijuana “raises the risk of irrational or unpredictable behavior with which gun use should not be associated,” Senior District Judge Jed Rakoff said, according to Fox News.

While marijuana is still illegal under federal law, the fact that the majority of these states affected by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have voted to decriminalize the drug has to count for something. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has told gun sellers they can assume a person with a medical marijuana card uses the drug.

That makes the 3-0 decision the 9th Circuit reached an agreeable one for federal regulators, as the idea of trampling on more of the rights American citizens possess is far from a bad thing in their minds. And this all stems back to the beginning of the failed war on drugs in 1968, as these antiquated policies continue to weigh on law-abiding citizens and impinge upon their freedoms.

So while the government hides behind these dated laws put in place nearly half a century ago by the frightened majority, those who require medical marijuana for health problems are left defenseless to the whims of the authority in this country. If that scenario doesn’t bother you, then there is some sort of disconnect between the foundations of America and the current mentality in this once great nation.

People should not be subject to persecution and preferential treatment just because they have an ailment or some other need that warrants their use of medical marijuana. This so-called “reasonable conclusion” that can be drawn between drug use and violence is predicated on fear and fear alone.

Fear is no reason to trample on the rights of fellow human beings. Hitler used that tactic once upon a time in Nazi Germany.

Perhaps a reevaluation of what’s really threatening in this country needs to be undertaken by the powers that be, as refusing to sell a firearm in a lawful manner to United States citizens should be what’s against the law. The lawsuit filed by Rowan Wilson’s attorney, Chaz Rainey, offered this commentary on the outcome.

“We live in a world where having a medical marijuana card is enough to say you don’t get a gun, but if you’re on the no-fly list, your constitutional right is still protected,” Rainey told NBC News.

Deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law, Paul Armentano, offered a similar rebuke for the idea that a medical marijuana card equates to violence.

“Responsible adults who use cannabis in a manner that is compliant with the laws of their states ought to receive the same legal rights and protections as other citizens,” Armentano said.

So as our founding fathers roll over in their graves over these trivialities the government is using to disarm its citizens, try to think of how someone who’s actually in need of a medical marijuana card is any more dangerous than another random person you pass on the street. This medical marijuana ruling could have wide-reaching implications that are still difficult to see, but what’s for certain is that none of those suggestions are positive.

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]