Third Circuit strikes down lifetime gun ban over old DUI felony

A federal appeals court just told the government that a decades-old DUI conviction isn't automatically a lifetime excuse to take someone's guns away. The Third Circuit's en banc ruling in Williams v. Attorney General is a real Second Amendment win, and it matters for any gun owner who's ever wondered whether an old conviction could come back to haunt their rights.

The short version

In a video from Jared Yanis, he breaks down the Third Circuit's October 13 decision in Williams v. Attorney General. Edward Williams was convicted in 2005 of a DUI with a BAC of 0.16%, which Pennsylvania classified as punishable by up to five years because of a prior offense. That classification triggered the federal felon-in-possession ban under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), even though no one was hurt and no property was damaged. Williams challenged the lifetime ban as applied to him, and the full Third Circuit agreed, ruling the government failed to show a historical tradition justifying permanent disarmament for his specific conduct.

Yanis explains the court applied the Bruen framework, finding the government couldn't connect modern felony sentencing thresholds or old "habitual drunkard" laws to Williams' circumstances.

Key points

• The ruling: The Third Circuit, sitting en banc, affirmed that Williams' lifetime firearm ban was unconstitutional as applied to him.
• His record: Williams had no violent conduct in over 20 years, steady employment for decades, and an expert found no addiction or violent tendencies.
• Government's failed argument: Historical "habitual drunkard" laws existed to protect individuals and families, not to prevent armed violence, so they didn't justify the modern ban.
• Admin relief rejected as a fix: The court found the Section 925(c) relief process, reopened by the Attorney General in March 2025, still isn't broadly available and doesn't excuse the constitutional problem now.
• Not a blanket repeal: Yanis stresses the decision doesn't strike down 922(g)(1) or automatically restore rights to everyone with a felony or DUI history.
• Who it covers: The ruling is binding in the Third Circuit — Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands.

Bottom line

If you've got an old non-violent conviction that's kept you from owning firearms, this case is worth knowing about, especially if you live in the Third Circuit. It doesn't automatically fix anything, but it gives attorneys a real precedent to argue that blanket, decades-old disarmament needs actual historical justification, not just a label.

Source: Jared Yanis