GOA and GOF File Federal Lawsuit Challenging Pennsylvania’s Lifetime Carry Ban for Citizens with Minor, Decades-Old Drug Misdemeanors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 8, 2026

Springfield, VA — Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), alongside Craig Philips, an honorably discharged Air Force and Gulf War veteran, have filed a federal lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s statutory lifetime denial of Licenses to Carry Firearms (LTCF) for individuals with minor, nonviolent drug convictions.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, targets 18 Pa.C.S. § 6109(e)(1)(ii). This provision permanently disqualifies anyone with any conviction under Pennsylvania’s Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act (CSDDCA) from obtaining an LTCF, regardless of the nonviolent nature of the offense, the minor penalties involved, or how many decades have passed.

Plaintiff Craig Philips served his country honorably in the United States Air Force. More than thirty years ago, in 1994, he was convicted of a minor misdemeanor for possession of a small amount of marijuana. Since then, he has lived a stable, productive, and law-abiding life, and he remains fully eligible to purchase and own firearms under state and federal law. Yet, solely because of this 32-year-old minor misdemeanor, Pennsylvania permanently denies him his constitutional right to bear arms in public.

Crucially, the lawsuit highlights the Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision in United States v. Hemani (June 18, 2026) to demonstrate that the Commonwealth’s sweeping carry ban cannot survive constitutional scrutiny.

In Hemani, the Supreme Court struck down a drug-related federal firearm prohibition as unconstitutional. The high court noted that the Founders lived in a “culture of copious drinking” and never disarmed regular drinkers unless they were shown to be actively dangerous. The Court warned that giving the government “broad power to designate any group as dangerous and thereby disqualify its members from having a gun… would quickly swallow the Second Amendment.”

Together with the landmark Bruen framework, the Hemani decision places an insurmountable historical burden on Pennsylvania to justify stripping peaceable, otherwise eligible gun owners of their carry rights over decades-old, nonviolent conduct.

Dr. Val Finnell, Pennsylvania Director of Gun Owners of America, issued the following statement:

“The Second Amendment guarantees peaceable citizens the right to bear arms for self-defense, and that right does not carry an expiration date. Pennsylvania’s lifetime ban on minor, non-violent drug possession convictions does not hold up to constitutional scrutiny.”

Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America, issued the following statement:

“Pennsylvania is treating a peaceable veteran like a second-class citizen over a minor marijuana misdemeanor from more than three decades ago. Craig Philips served this country honorably, obeyed the law for 32 years, and remains eligible to own firearms—yet the Commonwealth still says he can never exercise his right to carry. That is exactly the kind of government abuse the Second Amendment forbids, and GOA will not stand by while bureaucrats permanently strip Americans of their rights over decades-old, nonviolent conduct.”

John Velleco, Executive Vice President of Gun Owners Foundation, issued the following statement:

“The Supreme Court has made clear that the government cannot simply label peaceable citizens as ‘dangerous’ and erase their Second Amendment rights. Pennsylvania’s lifetime carry ban is sweeping, automatic, and historically indefensible. Under Bruen and Hemani, the Commonwealth bears the burden of proving this kind of permanent disarmament is consistent with our nation’s historical tradition and it cannot meet that burden.”

GOA spokesmen are available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization representing over two million members and activists. For more information, visit GOA’s Press Center.

-GOA-

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