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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear two key challenges to state-level gun control laws, allowing Maryland’s ban on assault weapons and Rhode Island’s restriction on high-capacity magazines to remain in place — at least for now.
By turning away the appeals, the high court avoided — temporarily — ruling on the constitutionality of banning popular semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15, which have been used in many mass shootings and are at the center of a national gun rights debate.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch publicly dissented from the court’s decision not to take the case, signaling frustration that the justices continue to sidestep major questions about the scope of the Second Amendment.
Maryland’s Assault Weapons Ban Upheld
Maryland’s law, enacted in 2013 after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, prohibits the sale, transfer, or possession of “assault long guns” and “copycat weapons.” It specifically bans 45 types of firearms, including variants of the AR-15, while allowing other semiautomatic weapons.
In August 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld the law, ruling that such weapons fall outside the protection of the Second Amendment. The court likened the AR-15 to the M-16 military rifle, which has previously been ruled not protected under the Constitution.
Maryland officials urged the Supreme Court not to intervene, arguing it was premature and unnecessary while similar issues are being reviewed in other federal courts.
Justices Signal a Future Fight
Although the court declined to hear the Maryland case now, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote separately, predicting the issue of whether the AR-15 is protected by the Second Amendment will return to the high court “soon, in the next term or two.”
“Given that millions of Americans own AR-15s… petitioners have a strong argument that [they] are in ‘common use’ and therefore protected,” Kavanaugh wrote.
Justice Clarence Thomas was more direct, accusing lower courts of misapplying Supreme Court precedent:
“Until we are vigilant in enforcing [the Second Amendment], the right to bear arms will remain a ‘second-class right,’” Thomas said in a dissenting opinion, criticizing what he called lower courts’ resistance to gun rights rulings.
Rhode Island’s Magazine Ban Also Stands
The court also rejected an appeal from Rhode Island gun owners challenging a 2022 law banning magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that law, finding it imposed no “meaningful burden” on residents’ ability to defend themselves.
The law requires owners of large-capacity magazines to either modify, sell, surrender, or remove them from the state. Possession is now a felony.
Rhode Island defended the law as a reasonable public safety measure, pointing to a long U.S. history of regulating dangerous weapons. The appeals court said large-capacity magazines resemble banned military-style weapons more than typical self-defense firearms.
Legal Landscape After Bruen
The Supreme Court’s decisions come amid continuing fallout from its June 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which expanded gun rights by establishing a “historical tradition” test. This framework requires that modern gun laws align with America’s tradition of firearm regulation.
Though Bruen clarified some elements of Second Amendment law, it has led to conflicting lower court rulings, creating legal uncertainty about bans on assault weapons, concealed carry laws, and more.
Monday’s actions signal that while the court is not ready to revisit Bruen directly, it is likely to weigh in on AR-15 bansand magazine restrictions in the near future — especially if circuit courts continue to disagree.
