Sentence Boost for Using Gun During Drug Crime Is Constitutional

A defendant’s tougher sentence for possessing a gun while selling drugs was upheld by a federal appellate court.

The defendant argued that the sentencing enhancement violated his Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. But the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said Tuesday that Miguel Alaniz didn’t have the right to keep and bear arms “during and in close proximity to his criminal activities.”

Under the current rubric established by the US Supreme Court, the question for the court was whether drug crimes are analogous to other crimes that have historically received higher sentences for possessing ...