A federal court jury in Delaware has found Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, guilty on all three federal felony gun charges stemming from buying and possessing a firearm while he was addicted to illegal drugs.
Two of the counts were for lying about his drug use when answering questions on Form 4473, the FBI background check form. The third was for possessing the illegally purchased firearm while addicted to, or using, illegal drugs.
While the conviction might seem like a victory to many on the right who detest the Biden family, it is considered by others to be a further assault on Second Amendment rights. Under the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in Bruen, it’s somewhat unlikely the questions asked on the background check form—and even the form itself—are constitutional since they have no historical precedents at the time of the nation’s founding.
At sentencing, the younger Biden could face a fine of up to $750,000 and up to 25 years in prison at sentencing. It’s likely, however, that he will receive far less than the maximum.
In 2018, Hunter Biden, now 54, purchased a firearm from a licensed dealer, and, while filling in Form 4473, responded “no” to the question of whether he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.” However, per Hunter’s own account of his addiction—as chronicled in his 2021 book, Beautiful Things—it is almost certain that he was an addict at the time he purchased the gun.
Under the terms of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993—a law that then-Sen. Joe Biden shepherded through the U.S. Senate—lying on Form 4473 is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison, thus the current trial.
It’s likely that upon appeal, Biden’s attorneys will argue that the questions on the background check form and possibly the background check itself is unconstitutional. Of course, if that doesn’t work, it’s very likely that his father, President Biden, will pardon him sometime after November’s election, whether he wins or loses.
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