Gun wall rack with rifles
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up legal challenges to Maryland’s ban on AR-15-style rifles and Rhode Island’s prohibition on high-capacity magazines — sidestepping, for now, what many view as a critical Second Amendment showdown.
The Court’s refusal to hear the cases allows the controversial state laws to remain in effect, dealing a temporary blow to millions of law-abiding gun owners and manufacturers. But the decision came over the objections of several conservative justices, who strongly indicated the Court will need to address the constitutionality of such bans soon.
Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, dissented, warning that delaying a ruling on the AR-15 — the most popular rifle in America — leaves citizens in limbo.
“I would not wait to decide whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America,” Thomas wrote. “That question is of critical importance to tens of millions of law-abiding AR-15 owners throughout the country.”
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, while voting not to hear the case at this time, agreed the issue is ripe for resolution. He pointed to ongoing challenges in lower courts and expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would ultimately weigh in.
“This Court should and presumably will address the AR-15 issue soon,” Kavanaugh wrote.
Under current precedent, any gun regulation must be consistent with the nation’s “history and tradition” of firearms laws — a standard established in the Court’s landmark Bruen decision (2022). But lower courts have struggled to apply this historical test uniformly.
Chief Judge Albert Diaz of the 4th Circuit, which upheld Maryland’s ban, acknowledged the confusion: “The Bruen framework has proven to be a labyrinth for lower courts… We are asking for help.”
Maryland and Rhode Island maintain their bans are constitutional, citing historical efforts to restrict weapons considered “exceptionally dangerous.” But opponents argue that AR-15s and standard-capacity magazines are clearly in “common use,” and bans on them contradict the core purpose of the Second Amendment.
What’s Next?
With multiple legal challenges moving through the lower courts — including those from states like California and Illinois — the Court may be forced to address the AR-15 question directly in the near future.
For now, the fate of modern rifles and magazine capacities remains unsettled, as the nation waits for the Supreme Court to clarify the constitutional limits of gun control.
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