{"id":238475,"date":"2026-07-08T15:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T15:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/238475\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T15:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T15:50:16","slug":"pennsylvanias-ban-on-gun-licenses-over-marijuana-convictions-is-being-challenged-in-a-new-federal-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/238475\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania’s Ban On Gun Licenses Over Marijuana Convictions Is Being Challenged In A New Federal Lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pennsylvania police officials are being sued over a state law that blocks people with past convictions for possessing marijuana or other illegal drugs from obtaining licenses to carry guns. The new lawsuit, filed in federal court, cites a recent Supreme Court decision to uphold the gun rights of people who use cannabis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

U.S. Air Force veteran Craig Philips is suing the acting commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police and the sheriff of Butler County in their official capacities in carrying out a state policy that denies people with drug convictions, including for simple possession, from obtaining a Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms (LTCF).<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, which was filed in conjunction with the Second Amendment advocacy groups Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners Foundation, Philips was convicted of possession of a small amount of cannabis in 1994 and \u201chas not used marijuana or other unlawful drugs\u201d since then, nor has he ever been convicted of any other crimes.<\/p>\n

Yet under state law he is \u201cpermanently ineligible\u201d for a LTCF.<\/p>\n

While Philips is not prohibited from owning or possessing firearms under state or federal laws, the inability to obtain a LTCF means he is \u201csubstantially restricted from carrying or transporting a firearm in a vehicle, carrying a firearm in Philadelphia, carrying a firearm for protection during a declared state of emergency, and exercising the right to bear arms in ordinary public life,\u201d the complaint says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe denial of Plaintiff Philips\u2019 LTCF therefore burdens not only concealed carry, but the practical ability to bear arms outside the home for lawful self-defense,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n

Under recent Supreme Court precedent, \u201chistorical tradition does not support permanently denying the right to bear arms to a person based upon the nonviolent offense of Possession of a Small Amount of Marijuana occurring over three decades prior,\u201d the filing claims.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo current facts support any finding that Plaintiff Philips is dangerous to himself or others,\u201d it says. \u201cDefendants cannot historically justify that infringement based on a single marijuana conviction from 1994 where Plaintiff Philips has since lived as a law-abiding citizen and remains eligible to possess firearms.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court, for its part, has already started\u00a0applying its finding in the marijuana and Second Amendment rights case to those involving other cannabis consumers who were prosecuted<\/a>\u00a0for possessing firearms.<\/p>\n

A recent poll, meanwhile, found that\u00a0most Americans support the Supreme Court\u2019s decision on gun rights for cannabis consumers<\/a>\u2014including majorities across party lines.<\/p>\n

Also, a federal agency that regulates guns says it is planning to\u00a0provide guidance in the wake of the court ruling on the Second Amendment rights of people who use marijuana<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania lawmakers, meanwhile, continue to debate whether to legalize recreational marijuana<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read the full lawsuit<\/a> on gun rights and marijuana convictions below:<\/p>\n

Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.<\/p>\n

\"Become<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania police officials are being sued over a state law that blocks people with past convictions for possessing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[564,28,30,29],"class_list":["post-238475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-featured","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}