Puerto Rico Gun Rights Group Calls for Police to Comply with SCOTUS Ruling Allowing Cannabis Consumers to Possess Firearms 

A Puerto Rican gun rights advocacy group is calling on the Police Bureau to comply with the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows cannabis consumers to legally possess firearms, The San Juan Star reports. 

The Police Bureau has indicated that it will not enforce the ruling, and a bill before lawmakers in Puerto Rico would bar medical cannabis patients from obtaining firearms licenses and allow police to verify whether applicants hold active cannabis ID cards. 

The law was passed by the House in March, prior to the Supreme Court Decision and is currently being considered by the Senate.  

During a hearing on Tuesday, Ariel Torres Meléndez, president of the Corporation for the Defense of the Holder of a Gun License of Puerto Rico (CODEPOLA) called the Police Bureau’s posture on the issue “slow” and “misguided” and contended that firearms should be returned to any gun owners affected by the policies prior to the Supreme Court decision. 

“The reality is that the Puerto Rico Police, nor any court in Puerto Rico, can go against the decision of the high court. Imposing obstacles and claiming they will now investigate, evaluate, or verify a citizen whose weapons and license were seized is an erroneous and unjust decision.” — Torres Meléndez, during the hearing, via The Star 

Torres Meléndez said that while his organization recognizes “that any new mandate requires legal analysis and regulatory changes,” those changes should not take years.  

“This is about doing justice for people who have a legal and constitutional right to defend their lives,” Torres Meléndez said during his remarks, “and who were deprived of that right without committing any crime.” 

Torres Meléndez called the House-passed law “unconstitutional” and that he had warned lawmakers and police to wait for the Supreme Court ruling before taking any action on the law but “they did not listen.” The law would require the Puerto Rico Department of Health to provide access to the Puerto Rico Police to verify whether a gun license applicant holds a medical cannabis license.