The nation's high court will soon decide if states have the authority to ban certain classes of firearms for arbitrary reasons.
In its orders list on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court combined two cases challenging bans on popular semi-automatic firearms, and granted judicial review, or certiorari, setting in motion briefing and oral argument before the bench's nine justices.
The cases are Viramontes v. Cook County (No. 25-238), which challenged the ban on AR-15s and similar arms in the Illinois county, and Grant v. Higgins (No. 25-566), a case on similar grounds against the ban in Connecticut. Viramontes is an appeal from the Seventh Circuit and has been on the Supreme Court's docket since last September, while Grant is from the Second Circuit and has been languishing since August. All in all, the challenges have been in the courts for nearly half a decade.
For gun rights advocates, the chance to explain why the high-handed bans are unconstitutional is all they have ever wanted.
"Lawmakers have long relied on fearmongering to pass laws that infringe on the Second Amendment, especially when it comes to common, semi-automatic rifles," said Second Amendment founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb in an email to Guns.com. The group is a plaintiff on both Viramontes-- along with the Firearms Policy Coalition and two private citizens-- and Grant, which is joined by the Connecticut Citizens Defense League and three private citizens.
"We’re hopeful the Court will finally put to rest the idea that these rifles are not covered by the Second Amendment simply because of their look and features," said Gottlieb. "These arms are no different than other semi-automatic firearms millions of Americans own."
The court's move to hear the cases comes at a time when more states have such bans than ever before, with Virginia recently becoming the 12th to adopt one in March, although it is currently under a legal injunction until 2027. Meanwhile, Rhode Island's ban, which was adopted last year, is set to take effect in July.
The court can expect heavy pushback from both blue states and national anti-gun groups eager to make their case.
"These laws are critical public safety measures, and they are consistent with the Second Amendment. Six federal appeals courts have rightly upheld assault weapon and large-capacity magazine laws, and we urge the Supreme Court to follow suit," said Janet Carter, managing director of Second Amendment litigation at Everytown Law.
Data from the National Shooting Sports Foundation points to more than 32 million detachable magazine semi-auto centerfire rifles such as ARs and AKs in circulation.
