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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supreme Court rejects Maryland AR-15 case, and interest groups respond
BALTIMORE — It's not clear if the Supreme Court's decision to deny two gun cases, including a challenge to a Maryland ban on AR-15s, a semi-automatic rifle, will influence how other gun cases are determined. However, gun owners say the split-court's case rejection reflects skepticism from some justices that the ban is constitutional. 'Four members of the Court, including Justice Kavanaugh, have made clear that the Fourth Circuit incorrectly decided the case,' said Mark Pennak, president of Maryland Shall Issue, a group advocating for gun owner rights expansion. In his view, the court's rejection only 'temporarily' allows the ban to hold. 'Once the Court grants review of the issue, the decision in that case will be controlling precedent in MD and elsewhere. If plaintiffs win on this issue in that case, the Maryland law will fail as well,' he said. The ban was enacted in response to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newton, Connecticut, where 20 children and six school staff members were killed. The Maryland case, Snope v. Brown, was declined alongside a Rhode Island case which contested a ban on high-capacity gun magazines. While Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas said they would hear the case, four of the nine Supreme Court justices must agree to hear a case. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he expects the court will address the issue of AR-15 legality 'in the next Term or two.' Kavanaugh also said that AR–15s are legal in 41 of the 50 States, which makes Maryland's law, relatively, 'something of an outlier.' Gun control advocates, including several Maryland elected officials, felt relieved at the high court's decision, saying that Marylanders are safer with the ban in place. Daniel Webster, Bloomberg Professor of American Health in Violence Prevention at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that he views the court's rejection of the case favorably. 'I think it'll mean that assault weapon ban will stay in, and I think that that's generally a good thing in terms of public safety,' Webster said. 'And I think that that is a policy that most Marylanders support for sure.' He also said that there are other states where similar bans have been challenged on Second Amendment grounds, but most courts have supported the bans. Maryland Congressman Glenn Ivey, a Democrat, posted on X, 'This decision sends a clear message: states can take bold action to protect their communities from gun violence. Marylanders shouldn't have to live in fear of weapons of war on our streets.' He also expressed his commitment to supporting 'common-sense gun laws that save lives and uphold our Constitution' in the future. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, also voiced support for the Court's decision. 'Maryland passed its ban on military-style assault weapons after the Sandy Hook massacre,' he posted on X. 'SCOTUS should continue to allow lifesaving laws like Maryland's to remain in place.' Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, the defendant in Snope v. Brown, said in a statement that the Supreme Court's case rejection means the state's ban 'that prevents senseless and preventable deaths' will remain in effect. 'Our Office will continue to advocate for gun safety laws at the General Assembly and will defend Maryland's common-sense gun reforms in court. We will do whatever we can to protect Marylanders from this horrific violence,' the statement said. ________
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Supreme Court upholds Biden administration regulation on 'ghost gun' assembly kits
WASHINGTON - A win for gun control advocates came down from the nation's highest court Wednesday. The Supreme Court has cleared the way for the federal government to continue regulating kits that are used to assemble weapons — so-called ghost guns. The kits allow people to put their own firearms together at home — like the one used to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December. The backstory At the heart of the argument was the question of restricting the sale of individual elements of a firearm. Consider a blank notepad and a pen: Does this count as a grocery list? Some say no because there's nothing written down. But some say yes because you use both to make a grocery list. Now, what if it's gun parts: Does that count as a firearm? Some say no because it's not an assembled weapon but some say yes because you can turn it into a weapon. What It Means The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that, yes, gun part kits count as firearms under the Federal Gun Control Act. That means the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms can require weapon part kit manufacturers and sellers to follow the same rules as federally licensed gun dealers — background checks, serial numbers, a license to sell, and recordkeeping. The other side The Biden Administration put these rules in place in 2022 after the proliferation of so-called ghost guns. Challengers argued ATF only had the authority to regulate guns — not kits with disassembled parts. "It is a limited decision because it's a facial challenge," said Mark Pennak, president of Maryland Shall Issue. "If it's a facial challenge, that means there are no conceivable application which would be legal or, in some cases, constitutional." MSI is a gun rights advocacy organization in Maryland. Meantime, in Maryland, Baltimore reached a settlement just last year with one of the largest makers of gun part kits, Polymer80, and the company agreed to stop selling their products in Maryland. Local perspective Defenders of the ruling argued that serial numbers are critical for law enforcement to track down guns used in criminal activity. D.C. police continue to grapple with ghost guns. "You know, locally in D.C., police only recovered 25 ghost guns in 2018. Four years Later, in 2022, there were 524 ghost guns. That's a huge increase," said Nick Wilson, with the think tank Center for American Progress. "So that's why it was so important last year that the D.C. Attorney, General Brian Schwab, led a group of 24 attorneys general across the country to ask the Supreme Court to uphold these ghost gun regulations, so law enforcement can have one more tool to do their job," Wilson said. Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, authored the decision, joined by most of the court. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.
