- The Supreme Court announced Tuesday it will hear challenges to bans on AR-15-style rifles and similar semiautomatic firearms in Illinois’ Chicago area and Connecticut during its next term.
- The cases will examine whether state and local restrictions on so-called assault weapons violate the constitutional right to bear arms, marking another major gun rights battle before the court.
- Assault weapons restrictions are currently in place in about a dozen states, including measures affecting major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. A federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004.
- The Supreme Court’s conservative majority expanded Second Amendment protections in a 2022 decision, triggering a wave of legal challenges against firearm regulations nationwide.
- The court is expected to hear the cases during its upcoming term, with a ruling that could shape the future of assault weapons bans across the country.
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