Man Denied Gun Permit for Drug Misdemeanor Meets Dubious Court

A Seventh Circuit panel on Thursday seemed unreceptive to arguments by an attorney challenging a Wisconsin gun law, which bars firearm possession by people who have been convicted in another jurisdiction of a crime that would be a felony in that state.

The dispute echoes similar arguments that have bubbled up around the country over which kinds of convictions qualify someone for disarmament. The US Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments March 2 in United States v. Hemani, a test of the federal law barring drug users from gun ownership.

The challenger here, Kenneth Karwacki, was denied ...