SCOTUS Takes the AR-15 Case — Bans in 6 States Now on the Clock
Grant v. Higgins + Viramontes v. Cook County consolidated — one ruling could end every assault weapon ban in America
- SCOTUS consolidating Grant v. Higgins and Viramontes v. Cook County means the Court wants a single, sweeping ruling — not a narrow procedural dodge.
- A pro-2A ruling under the Bruen historical-tradition test would instantly void assault weapon bans in California, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington state.
- Illinois gun owners who have been living under a 2023 ban — passed on a party-line vote — could see that law struck before it turns four years old.
- Anti-gun legislatures will have no constitutional runway left: if AR-15s are protected arms, no legislative relabeling or feature ban survives Bruen scrutiny.
The Supreme Court granted cert on two assault weapon ban cases, and for the first time since Heller, the highest court in the land will directly confront whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America.
The two cases are Grant v. Higgins — challenging Illinois' statewide ban — and Viramontes v. Cook County, targeting the county-level ban. SCOTUS consolidated them for argument. That consolidation is a signal: the justices want one definitive ruling, not two partial ones.
This is the case gun owners have been waiting for since the 2022 Bruen decision rewrote the constitutional rules. Bruen held that the government must prove any gun restriction is rooted in America's historical tradition of firearm regulation. Assault weapon bans have failed that test in lower court after lower court. Now SCOTUS will settle it.
Anti-gun states spent years running out the clock, betting they could outlast the current Court's conservative majority. Illinois passed its ban in 2023 on a party-line vote, dared gun owners to sue, and got exactly what it deserved — a trip to One First Street.
Cook County has had a so-called "assault weapon" ban on the books for decades, treating law-abiding gun owners like criminals for owning the same platform the military trusts to defend this country. Both bans run the same tired playbook: invent scary-sounding features, slap a label on millions of legally owned firearms, and call it public safety.
The stakes are total. A ruling that semiautomatic rifles are protected arms under the Second Amendment demolishes similar bans in California, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington state. Every one of those laws falls.
Arguments will be heard next term. A decision is expected by June 2027.
This is the ball game.
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