WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday sidestepped a new round of Second Amendment challenges by tossing out a challenge to an Illinois ban on assault rifles and sending other gun cases back to lower courts, including a challenge to the law used to convict Hunter Biden.
The moves came after the justices upheld a gun law meant to protect victims of domestic violence, the first gun rights case following a landmark ruling two years ago that expanded gun rights. The court has one more firearms case scheduled for the fall, considering an appeal from the Biden administration over regulations on hard-to-trace ghost guns.
The justices postponed until another day questions about other state and federal gun restrictions that were created by a 2022 ruling known as the Bruen decision, which said gun laws must be based on historical tradition to remain in law.
Justice Samuel Alito dissented from the Supreme Court’s decision in the fall to dismiss Illinois’ then-assault rifle ban, and Judge Clarence Thomas wrote in a statement that he hopes to take on the case after the lower courts make a final ruling.
The law was passed after a mass shooting during an Independence Day parade in 2022 in the Chicago suburbs left seven people dead. Ten states and the District of Columbia now have bans on semi-automatic weapons often referred to as assault weapons, according to the gun control group Brady, which tracks the legislation.
Another gun case challenging the law used to convict Hunter Biden has been sent back to lower courts for rehearing, following the Supreme Court’s June ruling in the domestic violence gun case.
The justices told the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider their ruling that overturned a long-standing ban on drug users possessing guns. Defense attorneys for Hunter Biden have cited the ruling in their fight against a case brought against him alleging he bought a gun while he was addicted to drugs.
The Supreme Court has also sent back to the lower courts several cases challenging a law that prohibits people from owning guns after they’ve been convicted of crimes. That includes the case of Bryan Range, a Pennsylvania man convicted in 1995 of falsely reporting his income to get food stamps for his family. An appeals court ruled that a lifetime gun ban violated his Second Amendment rights.
The justices also remanded a case challenging a gun law in New York, the state that was the reason for the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Bruen case.
New York has passed a new measure after justices struck down a tough law on carrying concealed weapons. It opened the door for more people to get permits while restricting where weapons could be carried, including playgrounds, schools, theaters, places where alcohol is served and buses.
An appeals court blocked parts of that measure, but allowed the state to continue to ban firearms in certain “sensitive” locations and to deny gun permits to dangerous people.
