WASHINGTON – WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court avoided a new set of Second Amendment fights on Tuesday, refusing to hear a challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons ban and sending other gun cases back to lower courts, including a challenge to the law used to convict Hunter Biden.
The moves came after justices upheld a gun law intended to protect victims of domestic violence, the first gun rights case following a landmark ruling two years ago that expanded gun rights. The court still has another firearm case on its fall agenda, weighing a call from the Biden administration for hard-to-track excessive regulation ghost weapons.
The justices left for another day questions about other state and federal gun restrictions that arose in the wake of the 2022 decision known as Bruen, which said gun laws must be based on historical tradition to stay on the books.
Justice Samuel Alito dissented from the high court’s decision not to hear a challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons ban in the fall. Justice Clarence Thomas referred to the law as “highly suspect” and wrote in a statement that he hopes to take up the case again after lower courts reach a final judgment.
The law was passed after a mass shooting at the 2022 Independence Day parade in the Chicago suburbs left seven people dead. Ten states and the District of Columbia now ban semiautomatic weapons, often called assault weapons, according to the gun control group Brady, which is tracking the legislation.
Another gun case challenging the law used to convict Hunter Biden was sent back to the lower courts for another review following the high court’s June ruling in the domestic violence-related gun case.
The justices told the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to take another look at the ruling that struck down a long-standing ban on drug users carrying guns. Hunter Biden’s defense attorneys cited the ruling as they fight the case brought against him by buying a gun during a period when he was addicted to drugs.
The Supreme Court also sent back to lower courts several cases that challenged a law against people carrying guns after they had been convicted of crimes. This includes the case of Bryan Rangea Pennsylvania man convicted of misreporting his income to obtain food stamps for his family in 1995. A appeal court ruled the lifetime gun ban violated his Second Amendment rights.
The justices also returned a case challenging a gun law in New York, the same state that gave rise to the Bruen high court ruling.
New York approved a new measure after judges struck down its strict concealed carry law. It opened the door for more people to obtain licenses, while also placing restrictions on places where weapons could be carried, including playgrounds, schools, theaters, places serving alcohol, and buses.
An appeals court blocked parts of that measure, but allowed the state to continue banning firearms in certain “sensitive” locations and denying gun licenses to dangerous people.
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