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Second Amendment Roundup: Cert Granted on Semiautomatic Rifle Bans

The question is whether the Constitution guarantees the right to possess AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles.

Stephen Halbrook | 6.30.2026 9:50 PM

On June 30, the Supreme Court granted cert in two cases involving prohibitions on semiautomatic rifles.  In Viramontes v. Cook County, arising out of the 7th Circuit, the petition posed the issue as: "Whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee the right to possess AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles."  That was consolidated with Grant v. Rovella, which concerns Connecticut's ban upheld by the 2nd Circuit.  The statement of the question in Viramontes will apply to both cases.

The Viramontes petition begins with the following statement:

Last term, this Court denied certiorari in Snope v. Brown, a case raising the constitutionality of........

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