Supreme Court to Hear AR-15 Ban Cases in Fall 2026 Term
The Court's decision to consolidate two circuit cases signals a definitive ruling on semiautomatic rifle regulations could reshape federal and state firearms laws by mid-2027.
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30, 2026, granted certiorari in Viramontes v. Cook County, consolidated with a companion case arising from Connecticut, agreeing to determine whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right to possess AR-15-platform rifles and similar semiautomatic firearms, according to the Court's official docket. Oral arguments are scheduled for the fall 2026 term, with a ruling expected by spring 2027.
The two cases represent distinct legal challenges to state-level restrictions. Viramontes v. Cook County challenges an Illinois ordinance banning certain semiautomatic weapons within Cook County jurisdiction. The consolidated Connecticut case challenges that state's Assault Weapons Ban, enacted following the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. Both cases reached the Supreme Court after circuit courts reached differing conclusions on the constitutionality of semiautomatic rifle restrictions under the standard established in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), which held that firearm regulations must be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation.
The Bruen decision, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas and decided 6-3 along ideological lines (Supreme Court docket No. 20-843), replaced a prior two-step means-ends framework with a text-and-history test. Lower courts have since issued conflicting rulings on how Bruen applies to modern semiautomatic weapons, creating a split that legal observers have noted makes Supreme Court review necessary. The specific question of whether AR-15-style rifles qualify as 'arms' protected under the Second Amendment has not previously been directly addressed by the Court.
At least eight states — California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — have enacted laws restricting or banning certain semiautomatic firearms, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence's state law database. Federal law does not currently ban these firearms; a 1994 federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004 and has not been renewed. Bills to reinstate a federal ban have been introduced in multiple congressional sessions, most recently the Assault Weapons Ban of 2023 (H.R. 698, 118th Congress), which did not advance out of committee.
What remains unknown is how the Court will define the historical tradition test as applied to weapons that did not exist in the 18th century, and whether the majority will distinguish between semiautomatic and automatic fire mechanisms as legally relevant. The full text of the certiorari grant, including any written statements from individual justices, is available through the Supreme Court's public docket at supremecourt.gov. Briefs from both parties and amici curiae will be filed prior to oral argument and will constitute the primary public record of the legal arguments presented.