In an ironic twist, Hunter Biden may use the Second Amendment to defend his right to own a gun while being addicted to crack cocaine. The president’s son, now facing potential legal challenges, intends to argue that he was within his constitutional rights to purchase a handgun in 2018, despite admitting to crack addiction, according to a recent Politico report.
As President Joe Biden advocates for stricter gun rights, his son looks to recent legal precedent for protection from criminal charges. The purchase of the handgun took place during a period when Hunter later claimed in his memoir that he was “smoking crack every 15 minutes,” leading to the belief that he lied on an ATF Form 4473 when buying the gun. Biden’s attorneys reportedly intend to use the Second Amendment to shield him from repercussions connected to the false information on the form.
The Justice Department is currently investigating Hunter Biden for alleged tax crimes and the suspected purchase of the gun through deceitful pretenses. It remains uncertain how his legal team will address potential financial crimes charges, but they are expected to reference a Supreme Court ruling that some gun rights supporters champion.
Last June, the court considered the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, ruling that a New York law requiring people to be licensed to carry guns in public was unconstitutional. Despite the president’s disappointment in this decision and encouragement of further gun control measures, the ruling could potentially benefit his son’s legal strategy, drawing from the numerous challenges to gun laws since the court’s decision.
Some of these challenges question the constitutionality of preventing people who use marijuana, for example, from buying firearms. State judges have occasionally ruled that individuals addicted to or in possession of drugs are not prohibited from exercising their Second Amendment rights. If successful with this legal strategy, Hunter Biden may inadvertently contribute to the loosening of certain gun restrictions.
The potential consequences for lying on ATF Form 4473 include imprisonment for up to 15 years and/or a $250,000 fine. As the younger Biden faces these legal battles, his use of the Second Amendment to protect himself may have far-reaching implications for future gun law cases.
