Whether the federal government may obtain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) based on the purely local possession of a firearm that has previously crossed state lines

QUESTION PRESENTED The federal government has committed petitioner James Hill to prison for a term of years based on testimony he briefly possessed a handgun on the front porch of a row home in Philadelphia. At his trial on a charge that this possession violated 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), Mr. Hill protested that such local conduct is not within the scope of Congress’s power to “regulate Commerce ... among the several States,” nor of any other constitutionally enumerated power. Following Third Circuit precedent construing Scarborough v. United States, 431 U.S. 563 (1977), as binding authority, the district court rejected his challenge. The question presented is: Whether the federal government may obtain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) based on the purely local possession of a firearm that has previously crossed state lines. i