Supreme Court takes up local bans on AR-15 rifles for next term

According to Axios, the Supreme Court will hear challenges to local bans on AR-15 rifles starting in October. The decision marks a shift: the Court previously rejected a similar challenge to Maryland's ban, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh's dissent signaled interest in reconsidering. The cases involve restrictions in Cook County, Illinois and Connecticut. Gun rights advocates argue that AR-15s are in common use for self-defense and thus protected under the Second Amendment. Cook County counters that these rifles are the weapon of choice for mass attackers and rarely used lawfully. The Court will apply its Bruen precedent, which established a 'common use' standard for firearms. An estimated thirty million AR- and AK-style rifles are currently in circulation in the United States.

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