Supreme Court declines to hear challenges to AR-15, magazine bans — for now…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up two prominent Second Amendment cases, letting stand state-level bans on so-called “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines. The decision not to hear the cases leaves intact Maryland’s 2012 ban on semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15, and Rhode Island’s law capping magazines at 10 rounds.
Monday’s punt marks another chapter in the Supreme Court’s recent reluctance to engage with major gun rights disputes — even after its landmark 2022 Bruen decision expanded the scope of the Second Amendment.
What the Court Let Stand
- Maryland’s Ban: Enacted after Sandy Hook, Maryland’s law prohibits the sale and possession of AR-15-style rifles and other semi-automatics deemed “military-style.”
- Rhode Island’s Law: Limits firearm magazines to 10 rounds, a restriction the state claims is meant to reduce mass shooting fatalities.
Lower courts upheld both laws, arguing these types of firearms and accessories fall outside the Second Amendment’s protections. Gun rights groups argue that logic ignores the millions of AR-15s in civilian hands and sidesteps the Supreme Court’s own guidance in Bruen. (RELATED: The Supreme Court Dilemma Every Gun Owner Should Know About [WATCH])
Dissents Signal Deep Divide
Three conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch — publicly dissented, falling one vote short of the four needed to take up the case. Thomas was especially direct, writing that bans on commonly owned firearms likely violate the Second Amendment:
“I would not wait to decide whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America,” Thomas wrote, arguing that continued deferrals leave lower court rulings unchecked and the rights of “tens of millions of law-abiding AR–15 owners throughout the country” in limbo.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, while not formally dissenting, issued a separate statement suggesting the Court might soon take up similar cases. He pointed to his own prior rulings, including a 2011 dissent, where he argued that semi-automatic rifles in “common use” fall under constitutional protection.
Zach Schonfeld from The Hill continues:
“In my view, this Court should and presumably will address the AR–15 issue soon, in the next Term or two,” Kavanaugh wrote in a three-page written statement.
Kavanaugh, President Trump’s second appointee to the court, called Maryland’s law “questionable.” But he stressed the issue is currently being considered by several appeals courts that are weighing other states’ bans.
“Opinions from other Courts of Appeals should assist this Court’s ultimate decisionmaking on the AR–15 issue,” Kavanaugh wrote.
The constitutionality of such laws has become a flash point in the legal battles over gun control. The Supreme Court has issued multiple expansions of Second Amendment rights in recent years but has yet to settle how those rulings apply to AR-15 bans.
What This Means for Gun Owners
For now, states have the green light to enforce strict bans on AR-15s and magazine capacity. But Kavanaugh’s note signals that the Court may be waiting for a more tailored or ripe case — possibly one coming through a different circuit or with a tighter focus on Bruen-related arguments.
In other words: the door isn’t shut. Just not open yet. (RELATED: Quick Action By Patriotic Bystanders Likely Prevented Tragedy)
Why This Matters
Gun rights advocates view these types of bans as unconstitutional overreach. Supporters of the laws point to public safety. One 2021 study in the American Journal of Public Health found that states with magazine restrictions saw 38% fewer deaths in mass shootings from 1990 to 2017.
That statistic is cited often by those pushing for stricter laws, but critics argue such studies don’t account for broader crime trends or the reality of gun ownership in the U.S., where AR-15-style rifles are among the most popular firearms sold.
What to Watch Next
- AR-15 Cases Pending: At least two federal cases challenging similar bans are making their way through the courts.
- 2025–26 Term: With the justices signaling interest, don’t be surprised if the next term brings a decisive Second Amendment showdown.
READ NEXT: Trump Calls On Supreme Court To Finally Drain The Swamp
The only consideraton that Justice Kavenaugh and all of the other Justices on the Court should ever consider is the Constitutionality of the issues at hand, and that includes all of the nonsense laws that the various states have passed into laws in their respective states. The states of California, New York, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and much of the northeast are not just wrong, they are criminally wrong about the issue of personal firearms. The State of California alone has passed so many stupid and self defeating laws with respect to firearms that the states laws should be swept clean and not allowed to ever see the light of day again. There are so many Communist politicians in that state that I am amazed that they haven’t seceeded from the United States in order to form a totalitarian state that is literally Communist. All of those politicians should never have been elected in the first place, but unfortunately the state has the worst voting record in the nation in many respects. It is sad because it used to be a place that was beautiful and accessable by ordinary people, but it is now the haven for the extremely rich and famous idiots that have totally ruined any chance of the state recovering from its malaise for the normal among the people.
WHY DOES THE SCOTUS KEEP PUSHING THIS ISSUE TO THE BACK BURNER?! THEY KNOW THAT THE 2ND AMENDMENT HAS SPECIFIC LANGUAGE THAT PROHIBITS ANY INFRINGEMENT OF ANY TYPE!!!!
And again, the Court stalls the meaning of the 2nd Amendment……….it’s like they don’t really want to give a solid definition of “Shall Not Be Infringed.” Could it be any clearer ?
Meanwhile states such as IL trample citizens rights.
ARE THESE OTHER 6 SCOTUS JUDGES THAT BLIND TO THE SECOND AMENDMENT?! WHAT PART OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT DO THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE CLAUSE, “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED”!!!