Supreme Court sidesteps new several new gun cases, including challenge to state assault weapons ban
The Supreme Court has sidestepped a new set of Second Amendment fights
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sidestepped a new set of Second Amendment fights Tuesday, declining to hear a challenge to an assault weapons ban in Illinois and sending other gun cases back to lower courts, including a challenge to the law used to convict Hunter Biden.
The moves came after the justices upheld a gun law intended to protect victims of domestic violence, the first guns rights case following a landmark ruling two years ago that expanded gun rights. The court still has another firearm case on its docket for the fall, weighing a Biden administration appeal over regulation of difficult-to-trace ghost guns.
The justices left for another day questions about other state and federal gun restrictions that have arisen in the wake of the 2022 ruling known as Bruen, which said that gun laws must be grounded in historic tradition to stay on the books.
Justice Samuel Alito disagreed with the high court's decision not to hear a challenge to then Illinois assault weapons ban in the fall, and Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a statement that he hopes to take up the case after lower courts reach a final judgment.
