Current:Home > BackSupreme Court turns away challenge to Maryland assault weapons ban-LoTradeCoin
Supreme Court turns away challenge to Maryland assault weapons ban
View Date:2024-12-24 00:25:31
Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a challenge to Maryland's ban on so-called assault weapons, allowing legal proceedings to play out in the dispute.
By not stepping into the legal battle at this time, Maryland's law remains in place for now. The ban's challengers had asked the Supreme Court to take up their case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled on whether the restriction is allowed under the Second Amendment. The full 4th Circuit heard arguments in late March, but has yet to issue a decision. The dispute is likely to end up back before the Supreme Court once the appeals court rules.
Maryland's ban on certain semiautomatic rifles was enacted in the wake of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Under the law, it is a crime to possess, sell, transfer, or purchase an "assault long gun," which encompasses 45 specific weapons or their analogues. A variety of semiautomatic handguns and rifles are still allowed, according to the Maryland State Police.
In addition to Maryland, nine other states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws restricting semiautomatic weapons.
A group of Maryland residents who want to buy semiautomatic rifles covered by the ban, a licensed gun dealer in the state and several pro-Second Amendment groups challenged the law in 2020, arguing that it violates the Second Amendment.
The 4th Circuit had already upheld the law once before, and the Supreme Court declined to review that decision. As a result of the earlier appellate ruling, a federal district court dismissed the case. But it landed before the high court once again, which sent the dispute back to lower courts for further proceedings in light of a 2022 ruling expanding the scope of the Second Amendment.
In that decision, the Supreme Court laid out a framework under which gun laws must be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation. That ruling has led lower courts to invalidate several long-standing gun restrictions found not to meet the so-called history-and-tradition test.
The Supreme Court heard a case in November arising out of one of those instances, in which a federal appeals court invalidated a 30-year-old law prohibiting people under domestic violence restraining orders from having firearms. It has yet to issue a decision in that case, but the ruling is expected to provide more guidance on how courts should apply the Supreme Court's new standard.
The pro-gun rights challengers asked the Supreme Court to intervene and leap-frog the appellate court, which it rarely does. They argued the issue is of "imperative importance."
"A fundamental right is at stake, the proper outcome is clear, and the behavior of the lower courts indicates that this court's intervention likely is necessary for that fundamental right to be vindicated," the groups argued.
They urged the Supreme Court to take up the case before the 4th Circuit ruled "to make clear once and for all that the most popular rifles in the history of the nation are protected by the Second Amendment."
But Maryland officials urged the justices to turn down the request to review its firearms law, arguing it is too early for them to step into the dispute. They also said that under the Supreme Court's new standard for evaluating the constitutionality of gun laws, its ban on certain semiautomatic rifles passes muster.
The ban on assault-style weapons survives constitutional scrutiny "because it is consistent with our nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation, which encompasses regulation of novel arms posing heightened dangers to public safety," Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown wrote.
Melissa QuinnMelissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
TwitterveryGood! (85385)
Related
- Chipotle unveils cilantro-scented soap, 'water' cup candles in humorous holiday gift line
- The FBI Keeps Using Clues From Volunteer Sleuths To Find The Jan. 6 Capitol Rioters
- China wraps up war games around Taiwan, practicing for an attack as tension with U.S. mounts
- Shawn Mendes and Sabrina Carpenter Leave Miley Cyrus' Album Release Party Together
- A Pipeline Runs Through It
- Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader, apologizes for asking boy to suck his tongue
- You Season 5: Expect to See a More Dangerous Joe Goldberg
- Klaus Teuber, creator behind popular Catan board game, dies at age 70
- Military veteran gets time served for making ricin out of ‘curiosity’
- Cynthia Rowley Says Daughters Won't Take Over Her Fashion Brand Because They Don’t Want to Work as Hard
Ranking
- Fantasy football Week 11: Trade value chart and rest of season rankings
- See Sammi Sweetheart Giancola Make Her Return to Jersey Shore: Family Vacation
- Jenna Ortega Has Some Changes in Mind for Wednesday Season 2
- Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson Celebrate Malika and Khadijah Haqq's 40th Birthday
- Chet Holmgren injury update: Oklahoma City Thunder star suffers hip fracture
- Fortnite Is Letting You Relive MLK's 'I Have A Dream' Speech
- Let Jamie Lee Curtis' Simple, Fuss-Free Red Carpet Glam Inspire Your Next Evening Look
- Israel says rockets fired from Lebanon and Gaza after second night of clashes at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque
Recommendation
-
Congress is revisiting UFOs: Here's what's happened since last hearing on extraterrestrials
-
Why Remote Work Might Not Revolutionize Where We Work
-
More Than 30 States Sue Google Over 'Extravagant' Fees In Google Play Store
-
Hobbled Hubble Telescope Springs Back To Life On Its Backup System
-
Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach $27M tentative settlement
-
See Gisele Bündchen Strut Her Stuff While Pole Dancing in New Fashion Campaign
-
Tale Of Tesla, Elon Musk Is Inherently Dramatic And Compellingly Told In 'Power Play'
-
CBP One app becomes main portal to U.S. asylum system under Biden border strategy