The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider a challenge to Cook County’s assault weapons ban, taking up a question tied to whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect possession of AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles. The case was consolidat
On the final day of its term, the U.S. Supreme Court set its sights on Cook County’s assault weapons ban—an order that signals the justices are ready to press harder on what the Second Amendment permits when it comes to AR-15-style rifles.
The Court agreed Tuesday to hear a challenge to Cook County’s ordinance that prohibits the possession. acquisition and transfer of the weapons covered by the ban. The law applies to 125 prohibited rifles. including AR-15s. and it puts in the spotlight a question that has echoed through mass shootings and courtroom fights alike: whether there is a constitutional right to own the types of firearms used in those attacks.
Gun-rights advocates argue the government cannot ban weapons unless they are “dangerous and unusual” under the Second Amendment. They contend that firearms “in common use” by law-abiding citizens “cannot be unusual.”
The justices did not decide the merits Tuesday. Instead. the Court announced its decision in a brief order granting the petitions and consolidating the Cook County case with another challenge to a similar law in Connecticut. The Court said it took up both matters specifically on the question raised in the Cook County case: “whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee the right to possess AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles?”.
That question matters because a 2022 Supreme Court ruling laid out the framework for reviewing gun regulations. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. the justices held that when an individual’s conduct is covered by the Second Amendment. the government must show the law is “consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”.
Since then, several justices have shown a strong interest in whether assault weapons bans can survive that test. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in 2024 that if the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “ultimately allows Illinois to ban America’s most common civilian rifle. we can — and should — review that decision once the cases reach a final judgment.”.
Thomas’ comments pointed to Illinois’ separate assault weapons ban, a signature achievement of Gov. JB Pritzker. Pritzker signed the ban into law in 2023 following the 2022 Highland Park parade shooting that left seven dead. The Highland Park gunman used an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle.
Even with that history, litigation over Illinois’ ban appears to have stalled in the federal appeals court. A three-judge panel heard arguments in September about the constitutionality of the law. but it has yet to issue a ruling. In the meantime, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon traveled to Chicago to personally argue against Illinois’ law.
The Supreme Court’s decision to take the Cook County case now puts pressure on how those questions will be answered at the highest level—especially when the Court is asking directly whether AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles fall under constitutional protection under both the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.
For Cook County and for gun owners and gun-rights advocates nationwide, the stakes are clear. For the courts and for states and local governments trying to regulate firearms used in mass shootings, the justices’ focus could reshape what future bans can look like—and what the Constitution allows.
Supreme Court Cook County assault weapons ban AR-15 Second Amendment Fourteenth Amendment Connecticut challenge Bruen Clarence Thomas Illinois assault weapons ban JB Pritzker Highland Park