The National Rifle Association of America today filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the justices to strike down bans on commonly owned semiautomatic rifles, including AR-15s, in Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins.
The cases challenge bans in Cook County, Illinois, and Connecticut. The Court is considering whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right to possess AR-platform and similar semiautomatic rifles that tens of millions of Americans already own for lawful purposes.
“Tens of millions of law-abiding Americans own these rifles for self-defense, sport, and the same freedoms our Founders fought to protect,” said Doug Hamlin, NRA EVP and CEO. “Progressive politicians in Illinois, Connecticut, and beyond want to ban the most popular rifles in America. These restrictions are a blatant violation of constitutional rights and an affront to the founding principles of our country. The NRA’s amicus brief, filed today by our world-class legal team, clearly lays out the legal reasons why the Supreme Court should take decisive action to strike down these types of bans on commonly owned firearms.”
The NRA brief, filed with the American Suppressor Association and the Independence Institute, traces repeating arms from 1490 through the introduction of semiautomatics. It shows that today’s rifles are not a “dramatic technological change”—the rationale lower courts typically use to uphold bans—and that no historical tradition supports banning the Nation’s most popular rifles.
The Supreme Court granted review on June 30, 2026. Joseph G.S. Greenlee of NRA-ILA is counsel of record.
About the NRA
The National Rifle Association of America is America’s longest-standing civil rights organization and the foremost defender of Second Amendment rights. Founded in 1871, the NRA is the leading provider of firearms marksmanship and safety training for civilians and law enforcement.
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