The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review two significant gun law challenges, effectively allowing Delaware’s assault weapons ban and Maryland’s handgun licensing requirements to remain in place.
The justices rejected an appeal from gun advocacy groups seeking to block Delaware’s prohibition on assault-style rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines, as well as an appeal concerning Maryland’s handgun licensing system. Both cases involve contentious issues surrounding gun rights and regulations.
In Delaware, the law enacted in 2022 bans the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons, including models like the AR-15 and AK-47, but allows existing owners to retain their weapons under certain conditions. The law also restricts magazines capable of holding more than 17 rounds. The appeal came from a group of residents, a firearms dealer, and organizations like the Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation, who argued that their constitutional rights were being violated by the restrictions.
The justices also dismissed an appeal by Maryland Shall Issue, a gun rights group, and other plaintiffs challenging Maryland’s 2013 handgun licensing law. The law requires potential handgun buyers to complete a fingerprinting process, take a safety training course, and pass background checks before purchasing a firearm. Opponents of the law argue that these requirements are excessively burdensome and delay the exercise of Second Amendment rights. However, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law, citing its public safety benefits.
While the Court declined to take up these two cases, it did not act on two additional appeals concerning Maryland’s assault weapon ban or a challenge to Rhode Island’s law regulating large-capacity magazines.
The decision comes amid a series of significant rulings in recent years by the Supreme Court, which, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has expanded the scope of Second Amendment protections in several key cases.
In contrast, the Court is scheduled to hear arguments in March regarding a lawsuit filed by U.S. firearm manufacturers, Smith & Wesson and Interstate Arms, against a claim that they contributed to illegal firearm trafficking to Mexican drug cartels. Additionally, the Court is expected to rule by June on a case related to the Biden administration’s efforts to regulate “ghost guns,” which are largely untraceable firearms.
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