Supreme Court to Review 2 Assault-Weapons Bans in Connecticut and Chicago Area
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 30
Supreme Court to Review 2 Assault-Weapons Bans in Connecticut and Chicago Area
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 30
Summary
The justices agreed Tuesday to hear appeals seeking to void semiautomatic-rifle bans in Connecticut and the Chicago area, setting up a major new Second Amendment case for the fall.
The challenges target AR-15-style firearms and ask whether those state and local restrictions violate the Constitution after the court's recent expansion of gun rights.
About a dozen states have similar assault-weapons laws, including ones affecting major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
The review follows the court's 2022 landmark gun ruling, which triggered broad challenges to firearm regulations, while Congress has not renewed the federal assault-weapons ban that expired in 2004.
As the Supreme Court takes aim at assault weapon bans, could laws in a dozen states be erased overnight?
With AR-15s now deemed 'common use,' can 18th-century laws justify modern firearm bans?
Assault Weapons Bans in Connecticut and Cook County Head to Supreme Court: High-Stakes Ruling on Gun Rights and Public Safety Looms
Overview
On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review challenges to assault weapons bans in Connecticut and Cook County, Illinois, marking a turning point in the national gun control debate. This move follows the Court’s earlier reluctance to hear similar cases and comes after its 2022 Bruen decision, which introduced a new test for evaluating gun laws. Lower courts have struggled to apply this standard, leading to inconsistent rulings. By taking up these cases, the Supreme Court aims to clarify the scope of the Second Amendment and resolve differences in how lower courts interpret gun regulations.