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US Supreme Court will not hear 'assault weapons ban' case | US Supreme Court will not hear 'assault weapons ban' case |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The US Supreme Court has refused to take up a case brought by gun owners challenging an Illinois city's ban on so-called assault weapons. | |
The decision leaves in place a lower court ruling that allows local governments some leeway in regulating the high-powered weapons. | The decision leaves in place a lower court ruling that allows local governments some leeway in regulating the high-powered weapons. |
Two conservative justices said that they would have heard the case, and had they done so, struck down the ban. | Two conservative justices said that they would have heard the case, and had they done so, struck down the ban. |
The decision comes days after mass shootings in California and Colorado. | The decision comes days after mass shootings in California and Colorado. |
The city of Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago, passed a law that bans semi-automatic weapons and large-capacity magazines in 2013. | |
A federal appeals court upheld that law in a ruling that was challenged by an Illinois gun owners association. | A federal appeals court upheld that law in a ruling that was challenged by an Illinois gun owners association. |
The high court has considered taking on the case for two months, and a delay in deciding whether to take it on seems to be because Justice Clarence Thomas was finishing his opinion. | The high court has considered taking on the case for two months, and a delay in deciding whether to take it on seems to be because Justice Clarence Thomas was finishing his opinion. |
He and Justice Antonin Scalia said the federal appeals court's ruling "flouts two of our Second Amendment precedents". | He and Justice Antonin Scalia said the federal appeals court's ruling "flouts two of our Second Amendment precedents". |
In the opinion, Mr Thomas did not mention any mass shootings that involved semi-automatic weapons, and said the Chicago-area ban "is highly suspect because it broadly prohibits common semi-automatic firearms used for lawful purposes" by about five million US citizens. | In the opinion, Mr Thomas did not mention any mass shootings that involved semi-automatic weapons, and said the Chicago-area ban "is highly suspect because it broadly prohibits common semi-automatic firearms used for lawful purposes" by about five million US citizens. |
Similar laws in Connecticut and New York were upheld by a New York federal appeals court in October. | Similar laws in Connecticut and New York were upheld by a New York federal appeals court in October. |
In all, seven states plus Washington DC have passed laws that ban the weapons. | In all, seven states plus Washington DC have passed laws that ban the weapons. |
Since two landmark rulings that ensured the right to own a handgun to defend one's home, the Supreme Court has regularly turned away challenges to gun laws. | Since two landmark rulings that ensured the right to own a handgun to defend one's home, the Supreme Court has regularly turned away challenges to gun laws. |