{"id":2577198,"date":"2026-03-07T10:41:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T15:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-an-unexpected-scotus-moment-justice-gorsuch-educated-the-court-on-how-much-founding-fathers-drank-it-was-apparently-a-lot\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T10:44:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T15:44:58","slug":"in-an-unexpected-scotus-moment-justice-gorsuch-educated-the-court-on-how-much-founding-fathers-drank-it-was-apparently-a-lot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-an-unexpected-scotus-moment-justice-gorsuch-educated-the-court-on-how-much-founding-fathers-drank-it-was-apparently-a-lot\/","title":{"rendered":"In an Unexpected SCOTUS Moment, Justice Gorsuch Educated the Court on How Much Founding Fathers Drank &#8211; It Was Apparently a Lot"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">44<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fin-an-unexpected-scotus-moment-justice-gorsuch-educated-the-court-on-how-much-founding-fathers-drank-it-was-apparently-a-lot%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2577198&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Supreme Court heard arguments in United States v. Hemani about whether the federal prohibition on firearm possession by \u201cunlawful users\u201d or addicts of any controlled substance, including marijuana, violates the Second Amendment under the Bruen framework that requires firearm restrictions to be consistent wiht the nation&#8217;s ancient tradition of regulation. The government urged reliance on historical limits on habitual drinkers to justify disarming marijuana users,but Justice Neil Gorsuch pressed for a careful look at what counted as \u201chabitual\u201d then versus now,noting examples of prominent historic drinkers to illustrate how past norms differ from today. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson suggested Bruen requires showing that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >historical restrictions disarmed people<\/a> who used intoxicants without using a firearm, otherwise the government&#8217;s position may fail.Justices Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts appeared more sympathetic to the government,arguing that many drugs did not exist or were not regulated at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-to-decide-whether-americans-can-carry-guns-in-public\/\" title=\"Supreme Court To Decide Whether Americans Can Carry Guns in Public\">founding era<\/a>,complicating the historical comparison. The case centers on Ali Hemani, who is charged with possessing a firearm while admitting marijuana use, and the Fifth Circuit\u2019s prior dismissal of his indictment.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>America&rsquo;s founding fathers probably drank too much alcohol to keep their guns under modern standards, Justice Neil Gorsuch suggested Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Several Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Monday of the Trump administration&rsquo;s defense of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/18\/922\">statute<\/a> that prohibits &ldquo;unlawful users&rdquo; or addicts of any controlled substance, including marijuana, from owning firearms.<\/p>\n<p>Principal Deputy Solicitor General Sarah Harris <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/24\/24-1234\/362144\/20250602174403309_HemaniPetition.pdf\">pointed<\/a> to founding-era restrictions on the rights of habitual drunkards as historical justification for disarming marijuana users, but Gorsuch highlighted a key difference in how the government now defines &ldquo;habitual.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The American Temperance Society, back in the day, said eight shots of whiskey a day only made you an occasional drunkard&hellip; To be a habitual drunkard, you had to do double that,&rdquo; Gorsuch said during oral arguments for United States v. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/cases\/case-files\/united-states-v-hemani\/\">Hemani<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;John Adams took a tankard of hard cider with his breakfast everyday,&rdquo; he sad. &ldquo;James Madison reportedly drank a pint of whiskey every day. Thomas Jefferson said he wasn&rsquo;t much of a user of alcohol, he only drank three to four glasses of wine a night. Are they all habitual drunkards who would be properly disarmed for life?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>While the government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/24\/24-1234\/362144\/20250602174403309_HemaniPetition.pdf\">contends<\/a> defendant Ali Danial Hemani is a drug dealer with suspected ties to Iranian terrorists, he is only being charged for owning a handgun while admitting to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gorsuch-questions-why-marijuana-gummy-could-strip-someones-gun-rights\/\" title=\"Gorsuch questions why marijuana gummy could strip someone&#039;s gun rights\">consuming marijuana &#038;ldquo<\/a>;a few times a week.&rdquo; The case <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/24\/24-1234\/392632\/20260123152824381_24-1234%20Brief%20for%20Respondent.pdf\">stems<\/a> from his challenge to that indictment under 18 U.S.C. &sect; 922(g)(3).<\/p>\n<p>The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals previously <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/appellate-courts\/ca5\/24-40137\/24-40137-2025-01-31.html\">tossed<\/a> Hemani&rsquo;s indictment.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson indicated the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-rules-against-biden-doj-in-high-stakes-jan-6-case-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Supreme Court rules against Biden DOJ in high-stakes Jan. 6 case - Washington Examiner\">government&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s position falls apart under their 2022 holding in New York State Rifle &amp; Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, where the majority held firearm restrictions must be &ldquo;consistent with the Nation&rsquo;s historical tradition of firearm regulation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The modern legislature, under our Bruen test, only gets to do the policy judgments of the historical ones,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We have to see that the historical legislature, going back to Justice Gorsuch&rsquo;s point, was making a determination that someone who only drinks or takes an intoxicant once every other day and is not doing so while he&rsquo;s using a firearm can be disarmed. If we don&rsquo;t see that, the fact that today&rsquo;s Congress thinks that person is dangerous is irrelevant.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts appeared more sympathetic to the government&rsquo;s position.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The most commonly used illegal drugs either had not been invented at the time of adoption of the Second Amendment or the adoption of the 14th Amendment,&rdquo; Alito said. &ldquo;Heroin was invented in 1874, cocaine 1855, methamphetamine 1893, fentanyl 1959, marijuana existed, but my understanding, hemp was grown for industrial purposes, my understanding is it was not consumed to any degree by people in the United States until at least the beginning of 20th century.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p><em>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During oral arguments in United States v. Hemani, the Supreme Court weighed the federal ban on firearm possession by \u201cunlawful users\u201d or addicts of controlled substances, including marijuana. Several justices appeared skeptical of the Trump administration\u2019s effort to defend the statute under the Bruen framework, which requires firearms restrictions to align with the nation\u2019s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Justice Neil Gorsuch used historical examples to question the government\u2019s approach, noting that many of the Founders drank heavily by today\u2019s standards. He pointed out that John Adams drank hard cider at breakfast, James Madison reportedly drank a daily pint of whiskey, and Thomas Jefferson drank wine, asking whether these figures would be deemed habitual drunkards today and thus disarmed for life. He suggested that the government\u2019s use of a broader modern definition of \u201chabitual\u201d may not track with historical practice.<\/p>\n<p>The government\u2019s argument relies on limits once placed on habitual drinkers to justify disarming marijuana users, but Gorsuch highlighted a key problem: the historical concept of \u201chabitual\u201d was narrower and variable, and it did not map neatly onto contemporary substance use. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson indicated that the government\u2019s position falters under Bruen because, to satisfy the historical-tradition requirement, the Court would need evidence that past legislatures disarmed someone who used an intoxicant infrequently and not while using a gun; without that historical analogue, today\u2019s policy would be irrelevant.<\/p>\n<p>Justices Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts expressed more sympathy for the government, arguing that many illegal drugs either did not exist or were not commonly used at the times of the Founding or the later amendments. Alito noted that heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl were invented long after the Founding, and while cannabis existed, hemp was primarily used industrially and not widely consumed.<\/p>\n<p>The case concerns Hemani\u2019s indictment for possessing a handgun while admitting to marijuana use \u201ca few times a week,\u201d with the Fifth Circuit previously tossing the indictment. The broader issue remains whether the modern a priori policy judgments about dangerousness can be consistent with historical restrictions, as required by Bruen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2577199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-03-03T091259.041.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[74922,75294,75293,69388,6994],"class_list":["post-2577198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-american-history-2","tag-founding-fathers-2","tag-justice-gorsuch-2","tag-political-commentary-2","tag-scotus"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-03-03T091259.041.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2577198"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2577202,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577198\/revisions\/2577202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2577199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2577198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2577198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2577198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}