AR-15 Bans Reviewed

The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to state assault-weapon bans.

US supreme court agrees to hear challenges to assault-weapons bans

Supreme Court to Decide Fate of State and Local Gun Bans

Supreme Court will decide a gun-rights challenge to blue-state bans on assault weapons

Summary

Left & Center

A neutral summary of the key facts most outlets agree on, drawn from reporting across the political spectrum.

The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the Second Amendment protects ownership of AR-15-style rifles and similar semiautomatic firearms, taking up challenges to assault-weapons bans in Connecticut and Cook County, Illinois. The cases put a major gun-rights question before a 6-3 conservative court that has expanded Second Amendment protections in recent years. A ruling could reshape laws in Democratic-led states, including California and Illinois, that restrict or prohibit semiautomatic rifles often cited in mass shootings. The justices will hear the cases in the next term, setting up one of the court’s most consequential firearms disputes since its recent gun-rights decisions.

The Coverage

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Gun-rights reaction

Gun-rights advocates cast the court’s decision to hear the cases as a long-awaited test of laws they argue target common firearms protected by the Second Amendment. Commentary from pro-gun outlets and advocates frames the challenges to Cook County and Connecticut bans as a potential turning point after years of the court declining to directly address assault-weapons prohibitions.