Showdown? Liberal Federal Court Defies Supremes In Gun Ban Ruling

A federal appeals court in New York City, dominated by Democrat appointees, has upheld Connecticut laws banning common rifles and magazines, setting up a potential conflict with the United States Supreme Court which already ruled such bans are unconstitutional.

“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on upheld Connecticut’s bans on commonly owned rifles and standard-capacity magazines, a decision gun rights advocates say directly conflicts with Supreme Court precedent,” the National Association for Gun Rights reports.

“The reality is that appellate courts across the country are in open revolt against the High Court’s rulings,” said Dudley Brown, President of the National Association for Gun Rights. “That’s why we are continuing to press these cases in the lower courts, building strong records and keeping the pressure on until the Supreme Court finally decides to step in. When the dominoes start falling, the justices will have no choice but to decide the issue.”

“This opinion is a brazen act of defiance against the Supreme Court,” said Hannah Hill, Vice President of the National Foundation for Gun Rights. “Oral arguments before the female-dominated panel felt like going before the legal version of The View — utterly hostile to both principle, common sense, and the Bill of Rights. This ruling absolutely follows that theme.”

The ruling came in National Association for Gun Rights v. Lamont and Grant v. Rovella, which NAGR describes as “two consolidated challenges to Connecticut’s restrictions on so-called assault weapons and magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds.”

NAGR reports they “argued that AR-15 style rifles and standard magazines are among the most popular firearms and accessories in the nation, owned by millions of law-abiding citizens for self-defense, hunting, and sport shooting. The Second Circuit rejected those arguments, concluding the state’s bans are consistent with what it called a tradition of regulating ‘unusually dangerous’ weapons.”

“The Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008 that firearms ‘in common use’ by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes cannot be banned. Gun rights advocates say lower courts have defied that precedent, upholding sweeping prohibitions with little regard for Supreme Court rulings,” NAGR reports.

The National Association for Gun Rights reports “it will return the case to the district court to begin the full merits process while monitoring other challenges moving through appellate courts nationwide.”

“The Second Amendment doesn’t mean whatever a hostile appeals court wants it to mean,” Hill said. “For over two centuries — and reaffirmed time and again by the Supreme Court — the rule has been crystal clear: arms in common use by law-abiding Americans cannot be banned. Yet courts like the Second Circuit treat the Constitution as optional. We will not stop until the plain text of the Second Amendment is enforced nationwide, and the right of the people is finally respected.”

The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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