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 take up appeals asking the court to strike down bans on the AR-15 and similar semiautomatic firearms in Connecticut and the Chicago area.
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.
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.
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 Illinois ban was first passed in 1993.
Gun rights groups argue it’s a violation of the Second Amendment to ban semi-automatic rifles, which are legally owned by millions of Americans.
But supporters of the law say they’re also a preferred weapon of mass shooters, and they can be banned because they are similar to military-grade weapons.
“Assault weapons cause massive devastation. They are the weapons of choice for mass shooters,” said Janet Carter, managing director of Second Amendment litigation at Everytown Law, in a statement. “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.”
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the state's assault weapon ban is "lawful, lifesaving, and broadly supported."
"The gun lobby has flooded the courts in states across the country to get an assault weapons case up to this Supreme Court," Tong said in a statement. "We are prepared for this fight, and we are going to go in with everything we’ve got to keep these weapons of war off our streets, out of our schools, and away from our families."
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.
In other recent gun cases, the justices have upheld some gun restrictions, including a law barring people under domestic-violence restraining orders from having guns, but struck down others, like a ban on gun ownership by all marijuana users.
Connecticut Public contributed to this report.
