Supreme Court to review AR-15 firearm bans
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will decide later this year whether state bans on the possession of AR-15 firearms and similar semi-automatic "assault style" guns violate the Second Amendment.
Ten states plus D.C. ban the weapons, which have been used in many of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, including Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 and Uvalde, Texas, in 2022.
The court will be reviewing challenges to bans from Cook County, Illinois, and Connecticut. Both bans were previously upheld by federal appeals courts.
Gun rights groups say the bans are a violation of their Second Amendment rights.
Separately, the justices rejected a series of appeals from the National Rifle Association and other Second Amendment advocates seeking to strike down federal and state bans on the purchase and possession of handguns and handgun ammunition for 18-20-year-olds.
The decision means the minimum age of 21 to purchase a handgun will remain in effect, at least for now.
The justices did not explain their decisions which came down in a standard end-of-term orders list. The court will hear arguments again in the fall.
The Supreme Court weighed in on guns this term as well.
Earlier this month, the court struck down a Hawaii law that prohibits the carry of a firearm onto private property that is open to the public unless the property owner gives express consent. The ruling was a setback for gun control advocates that had argued the measures were necessary for public safety in places like shopping malls, bars, restaurants, theaters, farms, arenas and private beaches.
