Supreme Court: Semi-automatic rifle bans in Maryland, other states remain for now

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court rejected two Second Amendment cases Monday, one challenging Maryland’s ban on semi-automatic rifles and the other challenging Rhode Island’s ban on such firearms as well as high-capacity gun magazines.

The rejection of the Maryland case effectively upholds the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that a firearm’s “common use” is insufficient grounds for constitutional protection. “Common use” precedent dates back to District of Columbia v. Heller, where the Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that bans on handguns violate the Second Amendment, which protects weapons that are “in common use by law-abiding citizens.”

In a Monday statement respecting the Court’s denial, Justice Brett Kavanagh noted that “under this Court’s precedents, the Fourth Circuit’s decision is questionable.” He also pointed out that its denial to hear the Maryland case “does not mean that the Court agrees with a lower-court decision or that the issue is not worthy of review.”

“Additional petitions for certiorari will likely be before this Court shortly and, in my view, this Court should and presumably will address the AR–15 issue soon, in the next Term or two,” Kavanaugh concluded. 

Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the majority's decision and said they would have liked to review the cases, particularly since the regulatory burden of proof rests on Maryland, Thomas argued.

“Under the plain text of the Second Amendment, the challengers’ only burden is to show that AR–15s are bearable ‘Arms,’” Thomas wrote in his dissent. “By any measure, they are.”

He added, “I would not wait to decide whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America.”

In a social media post Monday, the National Rifle Association of America called the Court’s decision to defer “disappointing.” The Second Amendment Foundation said on X that it is still reading the statements.