Coming the same week as the 250th anniversary of Patriots' Day, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Massachusetts gun ban on popular semi-auto firearms. 

The Boston-based federal court rejected the challenge backed by the National Association for Gun Rights in Capen v. Campbell. The plaintiff, Massachusetts resident Joseph Capen, first brought his case against the Commonwealth in 2022, arguing the state violated the Second Amendment when it banned the possession of arms that were in "common use by the American public for lawful purposes" and seeking an injunction against the state's enforcement. 

That logic would seem to hold up, as conservative estimates by industry experts put the number of AR-15 and AK-style rifles in circulation at over 24 million just three years ago, edging into the 28 million region more recently. 

However, a district court in December 2023 denied the injunction, holding that the case did not have a "likelihood of success on the merits of their claims." A unanimous three-judge panel of the First Circuit upheld that decision last week. 

"We accordingly conclude that the Massachusetts Ban's AR-15 restriction does not place a historically anomalous burden on self-defense," said Judge Gary Katzmann, an Obama-appointed member of the U.S. Court of International Trade sitting on the panel. Katzmann was joined by two Biden appointees, U.S. Circuit Judges Gustavo Gelpí and Julie Rikelman, in the unanimous decision.

The court is one of the most left-leaning in the country, with all six of its active judges appointed by Obama and Biden. Of its five senior judges, only two are Republicans, appointed by G.W. Bush and Nixon, although they rarely hear cases.

The court recently kept alive a controversial lawsuit brought by the Mexican government against some of the biggest names in the American gun industry, including Barrett, Beretta, Century Arms, Colt, Glock, Ruger, and Smith & Wesson, which blamed the gunmakers for the country's out-of-control narco-cartel violence. Last year, the First Circuit upheld Rhode Island's strict "assault weapon" ban using much the same logic as in Capen.

"Once again, we have yet another appellate ruling full of absolute defiance of Bruen," Hannah Hill, the National Association for Gun Rights' executive director, said in an X post detailing the case. 

Capen v. Campbell will continue through the courts. 

Banner image: S&W M&P 15 being built on the line. The company recently moved its headquarters out of Massachusetts to more gun-friendly Tennessee over anti-2A restrictions in The Bay State (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com).