The U.S. Supreme Court will conference next Monday, Dec. 16 to determine whether justices will hear arguments in the long-running challenge of Maryland’s ban on so-called “assault weapons,” to ultimately rule whether such a ban violates the Second Amendment.
The case is known as Snope v. Brown, but was originally known as Bianchi v. Frosh, which tells a bit about how long it has been around. It was originally filed in 2020.
Plaintiffs are the Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and bear arms, Firearms Policy Coalition, and David Snope (for whom the case is now named).
The case has garnered several supporting amicus briefs, including from the National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Law Center, National Shooting Sports Foundation, National Association for Gun Rights, Knife Rights, Inc., Gun Owners of America and from 27 state attorneys general and the legislatures of Arizona and Wisconsin.
As noted by The Truth About Guns, if the high court hears the case, it will determine whether states can ban modern semiautomatic rifles such as the AR-15 and similar firearms. The decision could affect gun bans in other states, including California, Washington, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Delaware.
The high court first addressed the Maryland challenge when it granted certiorari in June 2022 one week after handing down the landmark ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The court didn’t opt to hear the case, but instead vacated a lower court ruling upholding the ban, and then remanded it back for further action under new Second Amendment litigation standards established by the Bruen ruling. It has been making its way back up the judicial ladder ever since.
What’s at stake is simple but profoundly important, say Second Amendment advocates. A ruling in this case would establish whether modern semi-auto rifles are constitutionally protected. Gun rights activists say they are, the gun prohibition lobby says they aren’t, along with anti-gun politicians. A positive ruling would be devastating to the gun ban movement.
Maryland banned semi-autos back in 2010.
This is one of those cases where the “third time” might actually be “the charm.” The case was again submitted for certiorari late last year before the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which had been dragging its feet, handed down its predictable decision to uphold Maryland’s ban. The current petition for review is the third time at bat for the plaintiffs, and many feel high court consideration is past due.
Attorneys for the petitioners are David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson and William V. Bergstrom at Cooper and Kirk in Washington, D.C. and Raymond M. DiGuiseppe at the DiGuiseppe Law Firm at Southport, N.C.
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