The Supreme Court rejected on Monday an appeal of a group of defenders of the rights of weapons that seek to revoke Maryland’s prohibition of the assault rifles and high -capacity magazines under the second amendment.
The decision, a great victory for the defenders of the security of arms, leaves a decision of the Court of Appeals of the Fourth Circuit of the United States that ruled that the State can constitutionally prohibit the sale and possession of weapons.
The Ar-15 rifles are shown in an exhibition cabin during the annual convention of the National Rifle Association in Dallas, Texas, on May 18, 2024.
Carlos Barria/Reuters
The state legislation, promulgated in 2013 after the shooting at Sandy Hook primary school, is specifically directed to the AR-15, the most popular rifle in the United States with 20-30 million in circulation. They are legal in 41 of the 50 states.
The United States Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, on May 20, 2024.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Judges Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissent from the decision, saying that they would have addressed the case to decide the issue throughout the country. Legal challenges for other state prohibitions remain pending in the lower courts.
“I would not expect to decide if the government can prohibit the most popular rifle in the United States,” Judge Thomas wrote. “The question is of critical importance for dozens of millions of AR-15 owners respectful of the law throughout the country.”
The associated judge of the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas, appears before swearing in Pam Bondi as the United States Attorney General at the Oval Office of the White House, on February 5, 2025 in Washington.
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Judge Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the decision of the court to let Maryland’s law be maintained, for now, but wrote separately to call the “questionable” court ruling. Kavanaugh said that he expects the Superior Court to formally on the legality of the AR-15 in the “next term or two.”
The Saint Victor Ar-15 rifle is shown during the annual convention of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Houston, on May 27, 2022.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Maryland has seen a decrease in armed violence since the promulgation of a series of laws aimed at curbing access to dangerous weapons.
The officials particularly accredit a series of federal, state and local restrictions imposed on the weapons kits in 2022 and 2023 with the slowdown in online sales of non -traceable firearms, which require a history and age controls of the buyers and prohibit some kits sales in Maryland.
While the conservative majority of the Supreme Court has issued failures expanding the rights of arms owners, recent decisions have stressed support for some long -standing restrictions. In June 2024, the Superior Court trusted a ban on purchases and possession of firearms by Americans under domestic violence restriction orders. Earlier this year, the Court also confirmed federal regulations aimed at ghost weapons.
