Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia opposed the majority’s decision, saying the ban “flouts” the Supreme Court’s previous rulings on what rights the second amendment affords USA citizens.
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On the other side, while liberals are still interested in assault weapons bans, many have shifted away from the idea of bans on types of guns to focus on limiting who can buy guns and what’s required to do so.
If the courts upheld that conception of gun rights, it would indeed make the Second Amendment unique.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case could be read as an indication of justices’ unwillingness to further define the contours of the Second Amendment in light of the current political climate.
Thomas went on in his dissent to point out that semi-automatic rifles are very popular in America, with almost all owners using them for lawful purposes, and wrote: “Under our precedents, that is all that is needed for citizens to have a right under the Second Amendment to keep such weapons”, he said.
The San Bernardino attackers were in possession of two.223-caliber assault rifles, and almost 1,400 rounds of ammunition when they were killed in a shootout with authorities on Wednesday. Writing for the majority, Judge Frank Easterbrook said the court found there was a “substantial benefit” to the Highland Park ordinance if it makes the public feel less at risk from a mass shooting.
Though not a formal ruling, this decision appears to suggest that the justices don’t view the Second Amendment as protecting a right to own or carry high-powered weapons in public, reported the Los Angeles Times. More than five million are manufactured each year, and they are said to out-sell handguns and are about equal in sales to shotguns.
Lower federal Courts ruled that statutes such as Highland Park’s were not at odds with the Supreme Court’s rulings in 2008 and 2010, which permitted handguns to be kept at home for self-defense.
Consider assault weapons. They get much of the attention in the gun debate, for a few reasons.
The court made the call not to hear the litigation Monday morning, according to a city news release.
A nationwide assault weapons ban law expired in 2004 when the bitterly divided U.S. Congress failed to renew it, with many Republicans opposing gun control measures.
What this means in practical terms is that the 2013 ordinance passed by the city of Highland Park will remain in place.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand regulations enacted by the leaders of Highland Park, Ill., population 30,000, barring guns like those that perpetrated massacres ranging from Sandy Hook in 2012 to San Bernardino last week.
“The court’s decision will encourage gun control advocates to push more cities and states to enact assault weapons bans”, said University of California, Los Angeles, law professor Adam Winkler, an expert on gun rights.
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In October, the federal appeals court in NY largely upheld similar laws in CT and NY, among a handful of states that ban semi-automatic weapons. The court’s decision not to hear the appeal has the effect of upholding the laws in Highland Park and elsewhere.
