The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear two separate challenges to state laws banning so-called assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, leaving in place lower court rulings that upheld the restrictions.
The cases involved bans in Maryland and Rhode Island. One challenged Maryland’s restrictions on AR-15-style rifles, while the other targeted Rhode Island’s prohibition on magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Both bans had been upheld by lower courts and were opposed by Second Amendment advocates who argued the laws infringe on the constitutional right to bear arms.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the Court’s decision not to take up the cases. In a written statement, Thomas criticized the Court’s inaction on the matter.
“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.”
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled Maryland’s law against AR-15s was constitutional, arguing that if a weapon’s popularity alone guaranteed protection under the Second Amendment, then any dangerous weapon “could gain constitutional protection merely because it becomes popular before the government can sufficiently regulate it.” Lawyers against the law argued the Supreme Court had an obligation to “ensure that the Second Amendment itself is not truncated into a limited right to own certain state-approved means of personal self-defense.”
The modern Supreme Court has generally avoided taking up gun-related cases. But despite the Court’s refusal to hear these cases, Justice Brett Kavanaugh indicated the issue was far from settled.
“In my view, this Court should and presumably will address the AR-15 issue soon,” Kavanaugh said.
