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The Supreme Court has declined to review challenges to bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines in Maryland and Rhode Island, respectively. This decision, announced on Monday (June 2), allows these laws to remain in effect, marking a win for gun control advocates. The court's refusal to hear the cases came despite objections from several conservative justices.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted that challenges to similar bans are ongoing in lower courts, suggesting that the Supreme Court might address the AR-15 issue in the future. It takes four justices to agree to hear a case, and three—Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas—were ready to consider the bans. Justice Thomas expressed the importance of deciding whether the government can ban the AR-15, which he described as "the most popular rifle in America."
Maryland's ban, enacted after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, prohibits certain firearms, including AK-47s and some AR-15s. Rhode Island's law, passed in 2022, makes it a felony to possess a magazine holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. Nine other states, the District of Columbia, and various cities have also implemented similar restrictions.
The Supreme Court's decision comes amid ongoing debates about the Second Amendment and the historical tradition of gun regulation. Lower courts have struggled to apply the high court's standard, which requires a regulation to have a "historical analogue" rather than a "historical twin." Chief Judge Albert Diaz of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted the difficulty in applying this test, calling for more guidance from the Supreme Court.