I am putting together a declaration for a case before the 1st Circuit involving a couple with medical marijuana cards who are being criminally prosecuted for possession of firearms.
There is no historical tradition of disarming people for addiction or possession of controlled substances in the period before 1868. Even laws regulating possession of arms while intoxicated do nor appear before 1861. At least in part to understand this, read Rorabaugh's The Alcoholic Republic. In addition, there is no shortage of contemporary accounts establishing that "drunken" and "militia muster" are phrases that go together like "biscuits and gravy."
Intoxication and arms go together as well as "Intoxication and power tools" or ladders, cars, and dozens of other items but the historical tradition does not support the government's position. The combination of ever a user of intoxicants and arms as prohibited is as silly as banning firearms for anyone who has ever drunk beer. I want to construct a clever variant on, "Lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine," but I am not that clever right now
No comments:
Post a Comment