The Supreme Court will hear a pair of cases over the legality of sweeping “assault weapons” bans later this year, and the local governments at the center of the lawsuits are urging the high court this week to let them ban the firearms they claim are responsible for the “most tragic and frightening crimes.”
The high court will hear the consolidated cases Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins, challenging the “assault weapons” bans in Cook County, Illinois, and Connecticut, respectively, in December. The bans at the center of the consolidated case outlaw the purchase of AR-15 and similar semiautomatic rifles, with the justices set to rule on whether those bans violate the Second or 14th amendments. Both local governments filed their briefs to the Supreme Court this week, emphasizing their arguments that the bans are lawful because the AR-15 and similar weapons are not ordinary firearms.
