--- title: "Appeals court: DUI conviction doesn't bar gun rights" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/appeals-court-dui-conviction-doesnt-bar-gun-rights" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/appeals-court-dui-conviction-doesnt-bar-gun-rights" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/appeals-court-dui-conviction-doesnt-bar-gun-rights.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/appeals-court-dui-conviction-doesnt-bar-gun-rights" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-10-14T19:05:31.030Z" source_reported: "2026-10-14T17:51:20.000Z" updated: "2026-10-14T19:05:31.030Z" trust_score: 50 critic_score: 65 hype_score: 41 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-10-14T19:00:40.348588+00:00" --- # Appeals court: DUI conviction doesn't bar gun rights *Third Circuit rules federal law unconstitutional as applied to a man with past drunk driving offenses.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 50 of 100, higher is better. Central claim attributed to a named body, but relies on anonymous sourcing for some details. - Craft 65 of 100, higher is better. Quotes from the ruling are included, and the reader is told why this matters. - Hype 41 of 100, lower is better. Headlines promise a broad ruling, but the article clarifies it applies to specific cases. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is unconstitutional as applied to Edward Williams. - Williams had two convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol in the early 2000s. - The court found the government could not show a historical tradition of permanently disarming individuals like Williams. - The ruling was in the case of Williams v. Attorney General. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that a federal law prohibiting firearm possession by individuals convicted of crimes punishable by more than a year in prison is unconstitutional as applied to Edward Williams. Williams had two convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol in the early 2000s. The court examined whether the government could demonstrate a historical tradition of permanently disarming someone with a similar record. In its ruling, the court found that Williams had completed his sentences and had regained his civic privileges. ## Disagreement on the case name The case was identified as Williams v. Attorney General by Reason. WLTReport identified the case as Williams v. Blanche. ## What the coverage left out None of the right-rated reports mention the case name as Williams v. Attorney General, which was stated in the centre-rated report. The centre-rated report also included direct quotes from the court's opinion regarding the historical tradition of firearm regulations and the evolution of federal gun laws, which were not present in the right-rated digests. ## Who covered it Shares of the 11 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 0% (0) - Centre: 27% (3) - Right: 73% (8) 0 of 11 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-10-14T19:00:40.348588+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 1 time; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-10-14T19:15:21.406Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left No separate framing summary. ### Centre - Reason led on the headline "Second Amendment Rights Not Forfeited by Past Drunk Driving Conviction." The full report stated that the Second Amendment is a "primary protection against tyranny" and a "strong bulwark securing American liberty." It noted that the court considered the history and tradition of firearm regulations. The report explained that the Federal Firearms Act of 1938 first made it unlawful for individuals convicted of a "crime of violence" to possess a firearm, and this prohibition was expanded in 1961 to include any person convicted of a "crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year." Reason stated that the late entrance of a regulation tying felonies to gun possession disproves any longstanding customary contraction of the liberty codified in the Second Amendment. ### Right - Eight right-rated reports covered the ruling. Most used headlines such as "En Banc Appeals Court Delivers Major Second Amendment Win for Peaceable Americans" or "Federal appeals court rules some nonviolent felons can legally own guns." These reports stated that an old, nonviolent conviction is not sufficient for the government to permanently remove a person's Second Amendment rights. They highlighted that the court examined whether the government could show a historical tradition of disarming individuals like Williams and found it could not. Several reports noted that the court found Williams had completed his sentences and regained civic privileges. WLTReport contrasted this ruling with a separate decision concerning James Bost, whose record arose from violent carjacking, stating that Bost's record placed him on the dangerous side of the historical line, while Williams's DUI convictions did not establish the same kind of violent threat. Fox News reported that the Third Circuit Court ruled the federal felon gun ban only applies when prior convictions involved violence or threats, restoring Second Amendment gun rights for a DUI offender. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - low: 4 - mixed: 5 - high: 1 - veryHigh: 1 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Reason](https://reason.com/volokh/2026/10/14/second-amendment-rights-not-forfeited-by-past-drunk-driving-conviction) — Second Amendment Rights Not Forfeited by Past Drunk Driving Conviction - [Bizpac Review](https://bizpacreview.com/2026/10/14/court-rules-man-with-drunk-driving-convictions-cant-be-stripped-of-gun-rights-1663258) — Court rules man with drunk driving convictions can’t be stripped of gun rights - [thedailybs.com](https://thedailybs.com/2026/10/14/court-rules-man-with-drunk-driving-convictions-cant-be-stripped-of-gun-rights) — Court rules man with drunk driving convictions can’t be stripped of gun rights - The Daily Bo Snerdley - [WLTReport](https://wltreport.com/2026/10/14/en-banc-appeals-court-delivers-major-second-amendment-win-for-peaceable-americans) — En Banc Appeals Court Delivers Major Second Amendment Win for Peaceable Americans - [100% FED UP!](https://100percentfedup.com/third-circuit-second-amendment-win-lifetime-gun-ban) — En Banc Appeals Court Delivers Major Second Amendment Win for Peaceable Americans – 100PercentFedUp.com – by Donald - [INTELLINEWS](https://intelli.news/2026/10/14/federal-appeals-court-rules-some-nonviolent-felons-can-legally-own-guns) — Federal appeals court rules some nonviolent felons can legally own guns - [vz.ru](https://vz.ru/news/2026/10/14/1462781.html) — The U.S. Court Allowed Former Criminals to Own Weapons. - [nytimespost.com](https://nytimespost.com/federal-appeals-court-rules-some-nonviolent-felons-can-legally-own-guns) — Federal appeals court rules some nonviolent felons can legally own guns - NEW YORK TIMES POST - [wfmd.com](https://wfmd.com/2026/10/14/federal-appeals-court-rules-some-nonviolent-felons-can-legally-own-guns) — Federal appeals court rules some nonviolent felons can legally own guns - [Fox News](https://foxnews.com/politics/third-circuit-felon-gun-ban-dui-ruling) — Federal appeals court rules some nonviolent felons can legally own guns - [Reuters](https://reuters.com/legal/government/us-appeals-court-limits-felon-gun-ban-allows-violent-cases-2026-10-13) — US appeals court limits felon gun ban, allows for violent cases ## Questions **What did the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rule?** The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the federal law prohibiting firearm possession by individuals convicted of crimes punishable by more than a year in prison is unconstitutional as applied to Edward Williams, who had past convictions for driving under the influence. **Why was the law deemed unconstitutional in this case?** The court found that the government could not demonstrate a historical tradition of permanently disarming individuals like Williams, who had completed his sentences and regained his civic privileges after his non-violent DUI convictions. **What was Edward Williams's prior record?** Edward Williams had two convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol in the early 2000s. The court examined whether these convictions were sufficient to permanently strip him of his Second Amendment rights. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/appeals-court-dui-conviction-doesnt-bar-gun-rights. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Appeals court: DUI conviction doesn't bar gun rights", https://mediabias.news/politics/appeals-court-dui-conviction-doesnt-bar-gun-rights