A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month finding federal law does not bar casual drug users from owning firearms has led to a suit over a denied concealed carry permit in Butler County.

A Butler man and a gun ownership advocacy organization filed a federal suit seeking to overturn denial for him to obtain a permit to carry a concealed gun due to his 1994 conviction for possession of a small amount of marijuana. The suit also seeks to prevent anyone from being denied a permit due to Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act convictions.

Craig Philips, Gun Owners of America, Inc. and its Gun Owners Foundation filed the suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, naming Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe and acting Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner George Bivens as defendants.

The suit seeks to have a number of orders issued, including:

• declaring Philips’ permit denial a violation of the Second and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to keep and bear arms and guarantees the right to due process and equal protection under the law, respectively;

• permanently enjoining the defendants and all others with authority from denying Philips’ a permit due to his conviction;

• declaring the defendants enforcement of the Controlled Substance Act a violation of the cited Constitutional Amendments;

• enjoining the defendants and all others with authority from enforcing the act against people legally eligible to own and possess firearms and people convicted of possessing a small amount of marijuana;

• and requiring the defendants to process Philips’ application under constitutional requirements that the permit can be denied only with evidence that he is likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety.

Cited in the suit is the June U.S. Supreme Court unanimous ruling that federal law does not ban casual drug users from owning firearms.

The suit is not challenging permit denial based on Controlled Substance Act convictions punishable by more than two years in prison and convictions of Title 18 of the U.S. Code punishable by more than one year in prison. It does challenge Controlled Substance Act-related denials for people eligible to possess firearms under state and federal law.

Philips, according to the suit, served in the Air Force from 1989 to 1992 during the Gulf War and is a member of both gun organizations. He recently retired after working 12 years for the Department of Veterans Affairs as an air conditioning mechanic.

He was convicted of possession of a small amount of marijuana, an ungraded misdemeanor, in 1994, but has not used marijuana since then, according to the suit.

He said he is eligible to own firearms and has purchased handguns after passing the required background checks.

Slupe denied Philips a permit because his application was denied by the Pennsylvania Instant Check System, which is managed, operated and controlled by state police, according to the suit.

“I am a strong proponent of the Second Amendment. I will continue to always be,” Slupe said, Wednesday. “This may now be in the hands of the state legislature.”

Philips said he didn’t appeal or challenge the denial initially because he knows his conviction currently makes him ineligible. He said there are no facts saying he is a danger to himself or others.