WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has turned away an appeal from Maryland gun owners who challenged the state’s assault weapons ban.
The justices left in place a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the Maryland law that does not permit the sale of a range of semiautomatic weapons and large-capacity magazines. The banned guns include those that were used in recent mass shootings in a south Texas church and at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas.
The high court has not re-entered the debate over guns since rulings in 2008 and 2010 that held that Americans have a constitutional right to have guns for self-defense in their homes and that local governments could not ban handguns.
The justices also declined an appeal asserting a constitutional right to carry firearms openly in public.
The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, gave the following statement Monday afternoon:
“Maryland’s ban on commonly owned firearms and magazines violates our fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. The court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller clearly stated that arms in common use for lawful purposes are protected by the Second Amendment and thus cannot be subject to an outright ban. We will continue fighting to ensure that the Second Amendment freedoms of law-abiding Americans are respected in the courts.”
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