The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in NY upheld the state laws in CT and NY, and the justices said Monday in Shew vs. Malloy that they would not review that decision.
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Passed with bipartisan support in the wake of the killing of 20 first graders and six educators at a Newtown elementary school in December 2012, the CT law bans military-style semiautomatic assault weapons and magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds.
The denials come at a poignant moment – just over a week after a gunman used a handgun and a semiautomatic assault-style rifle to kill 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Given the events in Orlando and the now normative prevalence of mass shootings and gun violence in this country, a possible decision by the Supreme Court to weigh in on state legislation banning assault weapons would come as no surprise.
Seven states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws banning assault weapons.
Attorney General George Jepsen said the court’s decision showed that Connecticut’s gun control laws were “reasonable, sensible and lawful”. Federal appeals courts had ruled that these bans were constitutional. “New York’s assault weapons ban keeps New Yorkers safer – period”, Schneiderman said. The high court on Monday also upheld a similar CT ban on assault weapons.
The challenge in CT reaffirms that the assault weapons are used in self-defense, hunting and recreational shooting. In the event that the court does not elect to hear the challenge, lower court rulings will remain.
Murphy said, “Military-style assault weapons have no place in our schools or on our streets”. Maryland, California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and New Jersey, as well as many cities and towns, have similar laws.
Last December the Supreme Court denied hearing a similar case from a Chicago suburb. We continue to hold this view, which was validated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s actions.
The two states’ gun laws were originally challenged in two cases from gun rights organizations and individual gun owners.
But support for specific gun control measures was very strong, with 92% saying they wanted expanded background checks, 87% supporting a ban for felons or people with mental health problems and 85% saying they would ban people on federal watchlists from buying guns. Public support for a ban on assault weapons jumped to 57 percent after the Orlando shooting.
“This decision is a victory for common sense gun control laws in NY and across the nation”.
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“Plaintiffs complain that mass shootings are “particularly rare events” and thus, even if successful, the legislation will have a “minimal impact” on most violent crime”.
