Gun Laws And 2a
Supreme Court Declines Assault-Weapon and Magazine Ban Appeals
High court leaves Maryland and Rhode Island restrictions intact, prompting mixed reactions
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✍️By ZRIntel Editorial Team📍Washington, D.C.
In a move that underscores the Supreme Courts current caution on headline Second Amendment disputes, the justices on June 2, 2025 declined to review paired challenges to Marylands 2013 assault-weapons ban and Rhode Islands 2022 high-capacity magazine limit, leaving intact lower-court rulings that upheld both measures. The casesBianchi v. Frosh and Ocean State Gun Club v. McKeesought to apply the Courts 2022 Bruen test to rifles such as the AR-15 and to detachable magazines exceeding ten rounds, arguing that both are in common civilian use and therefore protected. In separate orders, the Court offered no explanation, but Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented, writing that lower courts are openly defying Bruen by classifying semiautomatic rifles as dangerous and unusual. Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred with the denials yet signaled the issues merit full review once an appropriate vehicle arrives. State officials applauded the outcome. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said the ban remains an essential public-safety firewall, while Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee claimed magazine limits give victims precious seconds during mass shootings. Gun-rights advocates responded that the Courts silence is strategic rather than decisive. Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs warned supporters that litigators will refocus on record-building in pending challenges to Illinois, New Jersey, and Washington bans, aiming to present cleaner procedural paths and extensive historical evidence. The decision immediately ripples across twelve jurisdictions with similar restrictions, emboldening blue-state lawmakers to tighten cosmetic-feature definitions and bolstering prosecutors in ongoing criminal cases.