The Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in New York Rifle Association v. Bruen nearly three years ago, but since then, pro-gun advocates have been hoping for the court to take up major cases pertaining to the Second Amendment.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s rejection of a petition challenging Maryland’s “assault weapons” ban earlier this week offered a hint that the justices may address a key gun question in the near future. Gun control challenges at the high court have provided uneven results in the current term, but several major questions regarding gun laws could be headed for consideration by the Supreme Court.
Mixed bag for pro-gun advocates this term
The high court handed pro-gun advocates a loss earlier this term when it ruled that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives acted within its authority when, under the Biden administration, it made a rule asserting that gun control laws apply to kits that can be easily assembled into functioning firearms. The 7-2 decision saw Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissent, with Thomas warning the majority opinion “blesses the Government’s overreach.”
Later in the term, a victory for pro-gun advocates came with the unanimous June 5 decision by the Supreme Court to toss out a lawsuit levied by the Mexican government against seven U.S. gunmakers. The high court’s decision by Justice Elena Kagan held that the gunmakers could not be sued by Mexico under the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
The decision upheld a key protection for gunmakers who seek to avoid legal liability for when their products are misused by third parties.
“Gun control activists have long sought various avenues to restrict the Second Amendment in this country. Thankfully, today, the Supreme Court ended their latest attempt to bankrupt the firearms industry and make it harder for law-abiding Americans to acquire arms to protect themselves and their loved ones,” John Commerford, Executive Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said on Thursday.
While pro-gun advocates have praised the high court rejecting anti-gun advocates attempt to go after pro-gun law, their efforts to get the Supreme Court to hear their attempts to challenge gun control laws have not been successfully for the upcoming term.
The high court has rejected a litany of petitions in gun-related cases, including in cases challenging laws banning people ages 18 through 20 from owning handguns, high-capacity magazines for firearms, and “assault weapons” bans, which target AR-15s.
In a blistering dissent to the decision not to hear the assault weapons ban challenge, Thomas called on the high court to take up the issue of laws which target the popular AR-15 firearm.
“I would not wait to decide whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America. That question is of critical importance to tens of millions of law-abiding AR–15 owners throughout the country. We have avoided deciding it for a full decade,” Thomas said.
Despite the case not being taken up by the high court, Justices Thomas, Alito, and Neil Gorsuch said they would have granted the petition. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who would have been the key fourth vote needed to take up the case, defended his decision not to grant the petition in a statement, but said the issue should be taken up by the high court in the near future.
“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 said.
What cases the high court could take
With Kavanaugh’s hint that he would be open to granting a petition on the legality of AR-15s, the high court may take one of the various cases working their way up the lower federal courts challenging similar laws. One of the petitions filed Friday would put the AR-15 and similar firearms at the center of the question presented to the Supreme Court.
The legal arm of the National Rifle Association filed a petition with the high court Friday seeking to expand the rights of owners of AR-style rifles, by challenging a law requiring short-barreled rifles to be registered. The question presented to the high court would ask “whether the Second Amendment secures the right to possess unregistered short-barreled rifles that are in common use for lawful purposes.”
The group argues the case places the rights of AR-style weapons at stake, a key issue the high court punted on with its rejection of the petition regarding Maryland’s assault weapons ban.
“The Second Amendment guarantees the right of Americans to own commonly used firearms—including short-barreled rifles—without government interference, and we’re hopeful that the Supreme Court will use this opportunity to reaffirm that right,” Doug Hamlin, NRA executive vice president and CEO, said.
Another gun-related challenge that the group has asked the Supreme Court to consider is regarding Florida’s law banning adults under the age of 21 from purchasing firearms. The group filed a petition to the high court last month, calling it a “fundamental mismatch between Florida’s law and the Founding-era contract voidability rule.”
“Those same adults are also guaranteed the right to defend themselves through the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The NRA is asking the Supreme Court to take up this critical case to safeguard the constitutional rights of adults under 21,” Commerford said last month.
TOP CASES THE SUPREME COURT WILL DECIDE AT THE END OF THIS TERM
If the high court elects to take up the case, the justices would be tasked with asking if such bans on adults ages 18 through 20 from purchasing firearms are legal. A decision in such a case would have a significant impact on the various states that similarly restrict gun sales to adults 21 years old or older.
In lower federal courts, various other legal challenges to gun control laws are progressing toward petitions at the Supreme Court, including lawsuits challenging assault weapons bans. The high court is expected to issue order lists on applications over the next three Mondays in June.