8th Circuit decision upholding felon gun ban quickens path to Supreme Court, lawyer says

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Second Amendment 8th Circuit decision upholding felon gun ban quickens path to Supreme Court, lawyer says

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 5, 2023, 2:16 pm CDT

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A federal appeals court has refused to disturb a panel opinion upholding a ban on gun possession by felons, creating a circuit split. Image from Shutterstock.

A federal appeals court has refused to disturb a panel opinion upholding a ban on gun possession by felons, creating a circuit split.

The full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis refused to grant en banc review in a 7-4 decision Aug. 30, Reuters reports.

Lawyer Daniel Gerdts represents Edell Jackson, the man challenging the law. Gerdts told Reuters that the 8th Circuit decision “certainly expedites the path to Supreme Court review.”

Jackson had asserted that he had a Second Amendment right to possess a gun, even though he had two prior felony convictions for sale of a controlled substance. He had cited the 2022 Supreme Court decision New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, which held that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.

Bruen held that Second Amendment issues should be based on the amendment’s text and historical tradition.

An 8th Circuit panel had ruled against Jackson in a June 2 opinion. The appeals court cited laws banning gun possession by certain groups perceived to be dangerous.

The case is United States v. Jackson.

The 8th Circuit decision is at odds with a June 6 decision by the 3rd Circuit at Philadelphia, which held that the ban on felon gun possession was unconstitutional as applied to a man convicted of food stamps fraud.

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