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Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
RI's high-capacity magazine ban survives legal challenge
WASHINGTON (WPRI/AP) — A split Supreme Court on Monday rejected a pair of gun rights cases, though one conservative justice predicted the court would soon consider whether assault weapons bans are constitutional. The majority did not explain its reasoning in turning down the cases over high-capacity magazines and state bans on guns like the AR-15, popular weapons that have also been used in mass shootings. But three conservative justices on the nine-member court publicly noted their disagreement, and a fourth said he is skeptical that assault-weapons bans are constitutional. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have taken a case challenging Maryland's ban, and Justice Clarence Thomas wrote separately to say the law likely runs afoul of the Second Amendment. 'I would not wait to decide whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America,' Thomas wrote. 'That question is of critical importance to tens of millions of law-abiding AR–15 owners throughout the country.' Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the decision to pass on the case now but indicated that he is skeptical such bans are constitutional and that he expects the court will address the issue 'in the next term or two.' The Maryland law was passed after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut that killed 20 children and six adults. The shooter was armed with an AR-15, one of the firearms commonly referred to as an assault weapon. Several states have similar measures, and congressional Democrats have also supported the concept. The challengers had argued that people have a constitutional right to own the firearms like the AR-15, which most gun owners use legally. The case comes nearly three years after the high court handed down a landmark ruling that expanded Second Amendment rights and spawned challenges to firearm laws around the country. Ten states and the District of Columbia have similar laws, covering major cities like New York and Los Angeles. Congress allowed a national assault weapons ban to expire in 2004. The gun control group Everytown Law applauded the high court's action, saying the measures make communities safer. 'We will fight to ensure the courts continue to uphold these life-saving laws,' said Janet Carter, managing director of Second Amendment litigation. More than twice as many people died in mass shootings in which large-capacity magazines and assault weapons were used between 2015 and 2022, the group said. Attorneys for Maryland argued the guns aren't protected by the Constitution because they're similar to military-grade weapons. The law bans dozens of firearms — including the AR-15, the AK-47 and the Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifle — and puts a 10-round limit on gun magazines. The gun rights group Second Amendment Foundation said it has seven other cases challenging the bans and plans to continue to 'aggressively litigate' them. 'Millions of Americans continue to be disenfranchised from exercising their complete Second Amendment rights by virtue of these categorical bans,' Executive Director Adam Kraut said. The high court also rebuffed a bid to overturn state bans on high-capacity gun magazines in a case out of Rhode Island. Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch said they would have heard the case. More than a dozen states have similar laws limiting the amount of ammunition a magazine can hold. Thomas and Kavanaugh have previously expressed skepticism about assault weapon bans. As an appeals court judge in 2011, Kavanaugh wrote a dissent saying that a similar measure in Washington, D.C., was unconstitutional. Thomas, meanwhile, dissented in 2015 when the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to a municipal ban on AR-15-style weapons, writing that the 'overwhelming majority' of people who owned the weapons used them for lawful purposes like self-defense. The high court in 2022 handed down a ruling that expanded gun rights and told lower-court judges they should no longer consider factors like public safety in deciding whether firearm laws are constitutional. Instead, they should focus on whether a law fits into the nation's historic tradition of gun ownership, the court said. That led to a flurry of challenges to gun laws around the country, multiple restrictions struck down, and confusion among lower-court judges over what gun laws can stay on the books. Since then, the Supreme Court has overturned a ban on rapid-fire gun accessories called bump stocks but upheld a law barring people under domestic-violence restraining orders from having guns and regulations on nearly untraceable ghost guns. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement he's grateful the Supreme Court did not overturn the high-capacity magazine ban. 'My office has always fought to ensure that we have common sense gun laws on the books to keep Rhode Islanders safe,' Neronha said, adding that the Supreme Court's decision allows his office to 'continue that mission without interruption.' 'The law in question, the state's ban on possession of large-capacity magazines, as well as other gun safety laws are working – and working well – to prevent gun deaths and hold accountable those who commit gun crimes,' he continued. 'Just last year, my office charged more than 300 cases involving large-capacity magazines of 11 rounds or higher, undoubtedly preventing and deterring gun violence in the process.' Neronha said he hopes this will inspire state lawmakers to pass the proposed assault-style weapons ban, which the Rhode Island General Assembly will be voting on Tuesday. 'Every life has meaning – every person has hopes, dreams, family, and friends, all of which shatter when we lose someone to gun violence,' Neronha said. 'One life lost to gun violence is one too many.' Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Wall Street Journal
a day ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
Four Justices for AR-15s . . . Next Time
Is the AR-15 rifle protected by the Second Amendment? The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals last year said no in a doubtful opinion written by the redoubtable conservative Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III. On Monday the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of that ruling, while sending an unmistakable message to Second Amendment advocates: Ask again later. The oddity is that it takes four Justices to accept a case, and four chose to go on record here. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch stated that they would have heard the Fourth Circuit appeal, Snope v. Brown. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a longer dissent from the denial. 'The State of Maryland prohibits ownership of AR-15s, the most popular civilian rifle in America,' he begins. Then he casts shade on the Fourth Circuit's 'surprising conclusion' that 'AR-15s are not 'arms' protected by the Second Amendment.' That's three Justices. The fourth is Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who issued a 'statement' tipping his hand. AR-15s are legal in 41 states, he says, and Americans own 20 million to 30 million of them. The Snope petitioners therefore 'have a strong argument that AR-15s are in 'common use' by law-abiding citizens and therefore are protected by the Second Amendment.' He calls the Fourth Circuit's contrary ruling 'questionable.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Supreme Court allows AR-15 ban in Maryland
The Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal by a group of gun rights advocates seeking to overturn Maryland's ban on assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines under the Second Amendment. The decision, a major win for gun safety advocates, leaves in place a ruling by the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals which ruled that the state may constitutionally prohibit sale and possession of the weapons. The state legislation, enacted in 2013 after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, specifically targets the AR-15 -- the most popular rifle in America with 20-30 million in circulation. They are legal in 41 of the 50 states. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented from the decision, saying they would have taken up the case to decide the issue nationwide. Legal challenges to other state bans remain pending in lower courts. "I would not wait to decide whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America," Justice Thomas wrote. "The question is of critical importance to tens of millions of law-abiding AR-15 owners throughout the country." Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the court's decision to let the Maryland law stand, for now, but wrote separately to call the appeals court ruling "questionable." Kavanaugh said that he expects the high court to weigh in formally on the legality of the AR-15 in the "next term or two." MORE: Supreme Court battle spotlights guns trafficked from US into Mexico Maryland has seen a decline in gun violence since the enactment of a series of laws aimed at curbing access to dangerous weapons. Officials particularly credit a series of federal, state and local restrictions imposed on gun kits in 2022 and 2023 with slowing online sales of untraceable firearms, requiring background and age checks of buyers and banning some kit sales in Maryland altogether. While the Supreme Court's conservative majority has issued rulings expanding the rights of gun owners, recent decisions have underscored support for some longstanding restrictions. In June 2024, the high court upheld a ban on firearm purchases and possession by Americans under domestic violence restraining orders. Earlier this year the Court also upheld federal regulations targeting ghost guns.
a day ago
- Politics
Supreme Court allows AR-15 ban in Maryland
The Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal by a group of gun rights advocates seeking to overturn Maryland 's ban on assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines under the Second Amendment. The decision, a major win for gun safety advocates, leaves in place a ruling by the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals which ruled that the state may constitutionally prohibit sale and possession of the weapons. The state legislation, enacted in 2013 after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, specifically targets the AR-15 -- the most popular rifle in America with 20-30 million in circulation. They are legal in 41 of the 50 states. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented from the decision, saying they would have taken up the case to decide the issue nationwide. Legal challenges to other state bans remain pending in lower courts. "I would not wait to decide whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America," Justice Thomas wrote. "The question is of critical importance to tens of millions of law-abiding AR-15 owners throughout the country." Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the court's decision to let the Maryland law stand, for now, but wrote separately to call the appeals court ruling "questionable." Kavanaugh said that he expects the high court to weigh in formally on the legality of the AR-15 in the "next term or two." Maryland has seen a decline in gun violence since the enactment of a series of laws aimed at curbing access to dangerous weapons. Officials particularly credit a series of federal, state and local restrictions imposed on gun kits in 2022 and 2023 with slowing online sales of untraceable firearms, requiring background and age checks of buyers and banning some kit sales in Maryland altogether. While the Supreme Court's conservative majority has issued rulings expanding the rights of gun owners, recent decisions have underscored support for some longstanding restrictions. In June 2024, the high court upheld a ban on firearm purchases and possession by Americans under domestic violence restraining orders. Earlier this year the Court also upheld federal regulations targeting ghost guns.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Supreme Court leaves in place state bans on some semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity gun magazines
The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear arguments in a significant Second Amendment challenge to Maryland's ban on certain semi-automatic weapons, a move that leaves the state's law in place. Maryland's ban, enacted after the deadly 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, prohibits the sale or ownership of certain semi-automatic weapons such as AR- and AK-style rifles. The law was challenged by David Snope, a state resident who wants to purchase those rifles for self-defense and other purposes. The Supreme Court also declined to hear a challenge to Rhode Island's ban on high-capacity gun magazines, leaving that law in place. Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented from the court's decision not to hear the pair of cases. The 2022 Rhode Island law prohibits the possession of large-capacity feeding devices or magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. It requires owners of such devices to either modify them to fit the 10-round limit, sell them to a firearms dealer, remove them from Rhode Island or hand them over to law enforcement. The law required such action to be taken within 180 days of its passage, after which time violators faced up to five years in prison. Meanwhile, in the Maryland case involving automatic rifles, the Richmond-based federal appeals court upheld Maryland's law over the summer, finding that the guns at issue are 'dangerous and unusual weapons' and therefore are not covered by the Second Amendment's protections. The majority also concluded that there were historical analogues to the Maryland statute that were adopted by state legislatures across the country in the 19th and 20th century. US Circuit Judge Harvie Wilkinson, who was named to the bench by President Ronald Reagan, wrote for the court that 'we decline to wield the Constitution to declare that military-style armaments which have become primary instruments of mass killing and terrorist attacks in the United States are beyond the reach of our nation's democratic processes.' In dissent, US Circuit Judge Julius Richardson, a Trump nominee, wrote that the majority opinion 'disregards the Founders' wisdom and replaces it with its own.' Following the Supreme Court's blockbuster 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which struck down a strict requirement in New York that residents show cause to obtain a carry permit, the justices have largely avoided major guns cases. In July, for instance, the court declined to take up a challenge to a similar ban on assault-style weapons in Illinois. The decisions have had the practical effect of leaving the gun prohibitions in place amid a fierce debate playing out in lower courts over exactly what the Supreme Court meant by requiring firearm laws to be 'consistent with this nation's historical tradition.' Last year, the Supreme Court upheld a federal law that prohibits Americans who are the subject of certain domestic abuse restraining orders from owning a weapon, despite the fact that no identical law existed at the time of the nation's founding. Thomas said in a solo dissent on Monday that the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals had erred in upholding the Maryland law. The prohibition, Thomas wrote, could not be squared with the 2022 decision in Bruen, which he authored, that said the nation's gun laws must have a connection to history to survive constitutional scrutiny. 'It is difficult to see how Maryland's categorical prohibition on AR–15s passes muster under this framework,' Thomas wrote in dissent. This story has been updated with additional details.
