Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to AR-15 Bans in Major Second Amendment Case
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear challenges to assault-weapons bans in Connecticut and Cook County, Illinois, setting up a major Second Amendment case over whether governments may prohibit AR-15-style rifles and similar semiautomatic firearms.
In a June 30 order, the justices granted certiorari in Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins, consolidated the cases, and allotted one hour for oral argument. The Court granted review on the question presented in the Cook County case.
The issue before the Court is whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right to possess AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles.
The decision to take the cases does not strike down any law. But it gives the Court a direct opportunity to decide whether state and local assault-weapons bans can survive under modern Second Amendment doctrine.
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The legal stakes are significant. A ruling for the challengers could limit the ability of states and local governments to ban AR-15-style rifles. A ruling for Connecticut and Cook County could preserve a major category of gun regulation used by several jurisdictions.
Gun-rights groups welcomed the Court’s action. The Second Amendment Foundation, which is involved in the challenges, said the cases could clarify which arms are protected by the Constitution.
Gun-control advocates urged the Court to uphold the laws. Everytown Law said assault-weapons restrictions are public-safety measures and argued that federal appeals courts have upheld similar laws.
The cases now move toward briefing and oral argument in the Court’s next term. Until the justices issue a final ruling, the bans remain subject to the existing lower-court decisions.
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