WASHINGTON — Cook County, Illinois, and the state of Connecticut have filed their respondent briefs at the U.S. Supreme Court defending their bans on AR-15-platform and similar semiautomatic rifles, Reason reported. The briefs were filed on Wednesday, October 21, in the consolidated cases Viramontes v. Cook County (No. 25-238) and Grant v. Higgins (No. 25-566).

Source: Reason

Both governments argue that a weapon's popularity is not dispositive. The relevant question, they say, is whether their restrictions fit a historical tradition of banning unusually dangerous weapons — the exception recognised in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) alongside its holding that arms in common use for lawful purposes are protected. Cook County wrote that there is a robust historical tradition of regulating unusually dangerous weapons that compromise public safety, Reason reported.

Source: Reason

The challengers see it differently. The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), which brought both cases with partners including the Firearms Policy Coalition and private citizens, said categorical bans on the most commonly owned rifles in America violate the Second Amendment. SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut said the opposition briefs attempt creative tactics to avoid the constitutional standards set in Heller and in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), and that SAF looks forward to filing its reply.

Source: Second Amendment Foundation via Armed American News

The Supreme Court agreed in June to hear the two cases together, Gun Talk reported in its summary of the filings. The Seventh Circuit upheld the Cook County ordinance in June 2025 and the Second Circuit upheld Connecticut's ban in August 2025. The U.S. Solicitor General has filed in support of the challengers and has asked to take part in the argument.

Source: Gun Talk

Oral argument is scheduled for December 2, 2026, for one consolidated hour, and a decision is expected by the end of the term in June 2027. The ruling will be the court's most consequential Second Amendment decision since Bruen and could affect assault-weapon laws in about a dozen states and the District of Columbia, Gun Talk reported.

Source: Gun Talk