RetiredUSNChief said:
...But when I read through the statute, I saw the other stipulation about criminal conviction that wasn't covered in your post. So I googled that as well, for the second link...
I'm not sure what you're talking about.
Chapter 44 of Title 18 of the United States Code, beginning with Section 921 (18 USC 921,
et seq) sets out some of the federal criminal statutes relating to firearms. Section 922 of Title 18 of the United States Code (18 USC 922) is a statute. It sets out an whole lot of different illegal acts in connection with guns.
Paragraph (g) of 18 USC 922 sets out conditions which will disqualify a person from lawfully possessing a gun or ammunition. One such disqualifying condition is set out in subparagraph (3), i. e., being someone:
(3) who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802));
Another separate, and distinct disqualifying condition is set out in subparagraph (1), i. e., being someone:
(1) who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
Another separate, and distinct disqualifying condition is set out in subparagraph (2), i. e., being someone:
(2) who is a fugitive from justice;
Another separate, and distinct disqualifying condition is set out in subparagraph (7), i. e., being someone:
(7) who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship;
There are others, and each numbered subparagraph ((1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8)) of paragraph (g) of 18 USC 922 describes a separate and distinct disqualifying condition. Each has nothing to do with the others.
Then Chapter II of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations (27 CFR Chapt. II) sets out regulations adopted pursuant to the formal rule making process by the ATF. Section 478.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations (27 CFR 478.11) sets out various definitions adopted through the formal rule making process by ATF and applying to 18 USC 921,
et seq. One such definition is the one I quoted in post 25 defining what is meant by the phrase, "unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance" as used in 18 USC 922(g)(3), and that definition is:
Unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance. A person who uses a controlled substance and has lost the power of self-control with reference to the use of controlled substance; and any person who is a current user of a controlled substance in a manner other than as prescribed by a licensed physician. Such use is not limited to the use of drugs on a particular day, or within a matter of days or weeks before, but rather that the unlawful use has occurred recently enough to indicate that the individual is actively engaged in such conduct. A person may be an unlawful current user of a controlled substance even though the substance is not being used at the precise time the person seeks to acquire a firearm or receives or possesses a firearm. An inference of current use may be drawn from evidence of a recent use or possession of a controlled substance or a pattern of use or possession that reasonably covers the present time, e.g., a conviction for use or possession of a controlled substance within the past year; multiple arrests for such offenses within the past 5 years if the most recent arrest occurred within the past year; or persons found through a drug test to use a controlled substance unlawfully, provided that the test was administered within the past year. For a current or former member of the Armed Forces, an inference of current use may be drawn from recent disciplinary or other administrative action based on confirmed drug use, e.g., court-martial conviction, nonjudicial punishment, or an administrative discharge based on drug use or drug rehabilitation failure.
If a grand jury decides that probable cause exists to believe a person in possession of a gun or ammunition is a user of marijuana fitting that definition, the grand jury can indict that person for violating 18 USC 922(g)(3). That person will then be subject to arrest and will be tried for that crime. If his jury concludes that the prosecution has proven beyond a reasonable doubt facts causing that person to fit that definition, the jury will convict him of that crime.
As I noted in post 25, a federal court of appeal had occasion to look at a jury's application of that definition in a trial in which the defendant was charged with violating 18 USC 922(g)(3). In affirming the conviction, that court of appeal said (
U.S. v. Burchard, 580 F.3d 341 (6th Cir., 2009), at 355):
...the regular use of a controlled substance either close in time to or contemporaneous with the period of time he possessed the firearm...
would support conviction under 18 USC 922(g)(3).
Note that a past conviction for drug possession or use is not necessary to support a conviction for being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a gun or ammunition. However, a recent conviction could be a factor in deciding whether or not a person fit the definition.
A past felony conviction for drug use or possession, whether a state or federal conviction, even if in the distant past and even if the person hasn't used drugs for many years will cause that person to still be disqualified from lawfully possessing a gun or ammunition under 18 USC 922(g)(1).
