Supreme Court to Review Bans on Semiautomatic Rifles

The Supreme Court will examine if bans on semiautomatic rifles, commonly termed assault weapons, infringe upon the Second Amendment. On Tuesday, the justices announced they would hear appeals challenging prohibitions on firearms like the AR-15 in Connecticut and the Chicago region.

Currently, similar laws exist in about twelve states, covering major urban centers such as New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Congress let a nationwide assault weapons ban lapse in 2004. However, Democrats have sought to reinstate it responding to numerous mass shootings. States continue to enact their legislation, with recent laws in Virginia and Rhode Island.

This case marks another significant gun dispute reaching the court since its conservative majority expanded Second Amendment rights in a critical 2022 ruling, prompting challenges to firearm regulations nationwide. Arguments are anticipated in the fall.

Connecticut enacted its law following a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, where an AR-15 was used to kill 20 children and six staff members. The state argues these firearms, favored by mass shooters, are similar to military-grade weapons and can thus be banned.

“These laws are critical public safety measures, and they are consistent with the Second Amendment,” said Janet Carter, managing director of Second Amendment litigation at Everytown Law.

Gun rights advocates claim it is unconstitutional to prohibit semiautomatic rifles, owned legally by millions. Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation, argued, “The Second Amendment protects arms in common use for lawful purposes, and it’s hard to argue that a type of rifle that potentially outnumbers Ford F-150 trucks in America doesn’t meet that standard.”

Four conservative justices on the nine-member Supreme Court had suggested the issue would eventually come before the court. Cook County, Illinois, first enacted its ban in 1993, with lower courts upholding both states’ laws.

Challengers argue, “If the Second Amendment does not protect the most popular rifles in the country, it is hard to see how it protects any firearms at all,” except for home-kept handguns. Meanwhile, Cook County’s attorneys assert the measure complies constitutionally, citing the extensive public trauma of assault weapon massacres.

Previously, the Supreme Court backed Second Amendment rights in two recent cases, overturning gun carry restrictions in Hawaii and a wide federal ban on gun ownership by marijuana users. Despite this, some restrictions, like banning individuals under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns, have been upheld.

Additionally, the court dismissed cases involving under-21 gun restrictions, declining to engage with an issue that has polarized lower courts.