Cook County assault weapon ban: Supreme Court to hear challenge
CHICAGO - A Supreme Court that has expanded gun rights will consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles, often called assault weapons, violate the Second Amendment.
What we know:
The justices said Tuesday they will take up appeals asking the court to strike down bans on the AR-15 and similar semiautomatic firearms in Connecticut and the Chicago area.
Similar laws are in place in about a dozen states, covering major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Congress allowed a national assault weapons ban to expire in 2004, but Democrats have supported renewing it in response to a series of mass shootings. States have also continued to pass their own laws.
It is the latest high-profile dispute over guns to reach the court since its conservative majority handed down a landmark ruling in 2022 that expanded Second Amendment rights and spawned challenges to firearm laws around the country.
What's next:
Arguments are expected to be heard in the fall.
What they're saying:
Gun rights groups argue it’s a violation of the Second Amendment to ban semi-automatic rifles, which are legally owned by millions of Americans.
But supporters of the law say they’re also a preferred weapon of mass shooters, and they can be banned because they are similar to military-grade weapons.
The Connecticut law was passed after a mass shooter used an AR-15 to kill 26 children and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.
The Illinois ban was first passed in 1993.
Four conservative justices on the nine-member court, enough to grant review of a case, had signaled that it was only a matter of time before the court took up the issue.
In other recent gun cases, the justices have upheld some gun restrictions, including a law barring people under domestic-violence restraining orders from having guns, but struck down others, like a ban on gun ownership by all marijuana users.
The Source: The information in this story came from The Associated Press.