Fourth Circuit weighs meth user's Second Amendment rights

RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — The Fourth Circuit on Friday heard from a West Virginia man who said his status as a meth user shouldn’t impact his sentencing on a firearm charge.

On appeal, Stephen Simmons argued a provision adding enhanced penalties for unlawful drug users convicted of illegal gun charges violates the U.S. Constitution. Instead, Simmons claims his Second Amendment rights still exist even when he’s high.

During a 2023 search of Simmons’ home, police identified 43 firearms, some registered and others not.

Also found were six silencers, two Glock switches, and two auto sears. Meanwhile, a drug test on Simmons came back positive for meth and cannabis.

A federal judge last year sentenced Simmons to 37 months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to a machine gun charge. The judge gave him a stiffer sentence than usual, determining that Simmons’ drug use prohibited him from possessing a firearm at the time of his arrest.

Simmons argues that the lower court wrongly factored in his possession of lawful guns when enhancing his sentence.

Relevant federal law provides that if a person has 25 to 99 illegal firearms as defined in the National Firearms Act, their criminal offense level rises by six points. Simmons also contended that only between eight and 24 of the 43 firearms seized from his property counted as illegal, meaning the judge could only add four points to his offense level.

But the government countered that Simmon’s drug use makes him a prohibited person, meaning he couldn’t lawfully possess guns at all.

Representing Simmons, public defender Lex Coleman emphasized his client’s position that the government has no right to limit someone’s rights based on their drug use.

Coleman pointed to District of Columbia v. Heller . In that 2008 decision, the Supreme Court found that a district law requiring gun owners to keep their rifles unloaded at home violated the Second Amendment because the amendment guarantees people’s right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.

“The Supreme Court hasn’t ruled that the Second Amendment only applies to perfect people,” Coleman said. “Heller says you’re part of the people even if you have polka dots, Covid and you can’t say anything but cuss words."

Coleman also claimed that although Simmons tested positive for meth and cannabis, he was sober at the time of his arrest. The government prohibits substance abusers from possessing guns due to the perceived danger of the user.

The government outlined several colonial-era laws that impacted intoxicated people’s right to bear arms. A 1655 Virginia law prohibited the use of firearms at drinking events, while a 1771 New York law banned firing guns on the New Year’s holiday.

Coleman argued that historically, Americans have always mixed alcohol with firearms. He said authorities only temporarily took intoxicated persons’s guns when they were doing something reckless in public.

“We had more rum in the United States than the rest of the world for half a century,” Coleman said of the colonial period. “We were not just loud and proud patriots. We drank a lot, and yet we were not disarmed."

U.S. Circuit Judge Roger Gregory, a George W. Bush appointee, pressed the government on the notion that using drugs automatically makes a person dangerous to themselves and others.

“A lot of people use drugs, and they function and do all kinds of things,” Gregory said. “They smoke a joint, and they’re dangerous to themselves?"

U.S. Attorney Troy Adams pointed out that to receive illegal drugs, the user puts themselves at odds with the police and has to engage with a black market.

U.S. Circuit Judge Nicole Berner, a President Joe Biden appointee, took issue with the focus being on cannabis rather than meth.

“This isn’t a case about marijuana,” Berner said. “Can we move on from the marijuana conversation and move onto the question of methamphetamine use?”

Simmons had run-ins with the law before the execution of a search warrant at his home in Nitro, West Virginia.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began investigating his possession of unlicensed machine guns in 2019. Police obtained a state warrant after smelling cannabis while interviewing Simmons. Police uncovered evidence of drug use, including cannabis and meth, as well as 24 firearms.

In 2022, police searched Simmons’ property after receiving a domestic disturbance complaint. That time, they found another 15 guns, along with more cannabis and meth.

Simmons claims he was on the straight and narrow following the search until he caught his wife cheating on him. The incident caused him to return to his meth use, he said.

Adams declined to comment for this story. Coleman simply said that the three-judge panel had asked good questions.