U.S. Justice Department urges Supreme Court to strike down AR-15 bans

The U.S. Department of Justice has urged the Supreme Court to strike down state and local bans on AR-15 rifles, arguing that such restrictions violate the Second Amendment. Solicitor General D. John Sauer presented this position in a brief filed Friday regarding two specific cases: Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins.

The Justice Department filed the brief as an amicus curiae in support of challengers to firearm restrictions in Connecticut and Cook County, Illinois. Both jurisdictions have laws prohibiting the possession of firearms classified as ‘assault weapons,’ which specifically include AR-15 rifles.

The central argument from the Justice Department is that the Second Amendment protects firearms that are commonly possessed by law-abiding Americans for lawful purposes. Connecticut’s law reportedly includes an exception for certain firearms that were legally possessed before the ban was implemented.