NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to “Assault Weapons” Ban

Today, the NRA filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in a challenge to Maryland’s “assault weapons” ban.

The State of Maryland bans the sale and possession of several common semiautomatic rifles—including the most popular rifle in America, the AR-15. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld Maryland’s ban, holding that the prohibited rifles are not “arms” under the Second Amendment.

NRA’s brief argues that the Fourth Circuit contradicted Supreme Court precedent, especially District of Columbia v. Heller (2008). Heller held that common arms cannot be banned. Rather, only “dangerous and unusual” arms may be banned. But the Fourth Circuit rejected what it called Heller’s “ill-conceived popularity test” that “leads to absurd consequences,” and replaced it with a test directly contrary to Heller. NRA’s brief encourages the Supreme Court to grant the Petition for Certiorari to reaffirm its precedents and restore the right of Americans to possess common weapons

We invite you to read the NRA’s brief, filed in Snope v. Brown, here.

Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on NRA-ILA’s ongoing efforts to defend your constitutional rights.