Supreme Court will consider whether AR-15 bans violate the Second Amendment

By — Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/supreme-court-will-consider-whether-ar-15-bans-violate-the-second-amendment Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Supreme Court will consider whether AR-15 bans violate the Second Amendment Politics Jun 30, 2026 2:10 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A Supreme Court that has expanded gun rights will consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles, often called assault weapons, violate the Second Amendment. The justices said Tuesday they will hear appeals challenging bans on the AR-15 and similar semiautomatic firearms in Connecticut and the Chicago area. READ MORE: Supreme Court strikes down Hawaii law requiring permission to carry guns in stores and hotels Similar laws are in place in about a dozen states, covering major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Congress allowed a national assault weapons ban to expire in 2004, but Democrats have supported renewing it in response to a series of mass shootings. States have also continued to pass their own laws, including recent measures in Virginia and Rhode Island. It is the latest high-profile dispute over guns to reach the court since its conservative majority handed down a landmark ruling in 2022 that expanded Second Amendment rights and spawned challenges to firearm laws around the country. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Arguments are expected to be heard in the fall. The Connecticut law was passed after a mass shooter used an AR-15 to kill 26 children and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012. The state says the guns are a preferred weapon of mass shooters, and they can be banned because they are similar to military-grade weapons. "These laws are critical public safety measures, and they are consistent with the Second Amendment," said Janet Carter, managing director of Second Amendment litigation at the gun-control group Everytown Law. Gun rights groups, on the other hand, argue it's unconstitutional to ban semiautomatic rifles, which are legally owned by millions of Americans. "The Second Amendment protects arms in common use for lawful purposes, and it's hard to argue that a type of rifle that potentially outnumbers Ford F-150 trucks in America doesn't meet that standard," said Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation. Four conservative justices on the nine-member court, enough to grant review of a case, had signaled that it was only a matter of time before the court took up the issue. The ban in Cook County, Illinois, was first passed in 1993. Lower courts have upheld both laws. "If the Second Amendment does not protect the most popular rifles in the country, it is hard to see how it protects any firearms at all," aside from handguns kept in the home, the challengers wrote. Atto