Assault Weapons Not Covered By 2nd Amendment, Appeals Court Rules

RICHMOND, VA — The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 10-4 to uphold the state's ban on assault weapons Tuesday, overturning the ruling of a three-judge panel that had ruled against it a year ago.

Legislators in Maryland passed the ban on semiautomatic, military-style guns after the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.

Originally, a lower court ruled against the ban, finding that it ran afoul of the Second Amendment. However, the 4th Circuit contested this claim, writing for the majority, "Assault weapons and large-capacity magazines are not protected by the Second Amendment."

Observers expect that the case will go before the Supreme Court.

In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment protected an individual right to possess firearms. D.C. had banned handguns, but the court found this unconstitutional.

“We have no power to extend Second Amendment protection to the weapons of war that the Heller decision explicitly excluded from such coverage,” said the court in the majority opinion.

Writing in dissent, four of the judges noted that Maryland's ban should face "strict scrutiny," which means that legislation must face a very high threshold to be permitted, and noted that semiautomatic guns and high-capacity magazines are quite popular in the U.S.

"Millions of Americans keep semiautomatic rifles and use them for lawful, non-criminal activities, including as a means to defend their homes," they wrote. "Because the evidence before us clearly demonstrates that these popular weapons are commonly possessed for lawful purposes and are therefore not dangerous and unusual, they are covered by the Second Amendment. The majority errs in holding otherwise."

It continued: "For a law-abiding citizen who, for whatever reason, chooses to protect his home with a semi-automatic rifle instead of a semi-automatic handgun, Maryland’s law clearly imposes a significant burden on the exercise of the right to arm oneself at home, and it should at least be subjected to strict scrutiny review before it is allowed to stand."

Read the full ruling>>

Photo credit: Jake Guild