Eighth Circuit indicates Second Amendment limits federal gun possession crimes for drug users under § 922(g)(3)

A helpful comment made sure I saw that the Eighth Circuit today handed down a few notable Second Amendment rulings and limits on a federal gun possession prohibition.  The main substantive case, US v. Cooper, No. 24-1998 (8th Cir. Feb 5, 2025) (available here), is worth reading in full and here are excerpts from the start and heart of the decision:

In United States v. Veasley, we concluded that keeping firearms out of the hands of drug users does not “always violate[] the Second Amendment.” 98 F.4th 906, 908 (8th Cir. 2024). Now the question is whether it sometimes can. The answer is yes, so we remand for the district court to determine whether it does for LaVance Cooper….

Nothing in our tradition allows disarmament simply because Cooper belongs to a category of people, drug users, that Congress has categorically deemed dangerous…. Only later, in the mid-20th century, did legislative attention turn to the potential danger posed by mixing guns and drugs. These analogues make clear that “disarming all drug users,” regardless of the individual danger they pose, is not comparable to anything from around the time of the Founding.

US v. Baxter, No. 24- 1164 (8th Cir. Feb 5, 2025) (available here), also is in the same vein, though more procedural.  Baxter also rejects a claim that § 922(g)(3) is unconstitutionally vague in its prohibition of firearm possession by any “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.”