Supreme Court Upholds Washington DC’s Restrictions on Large Magazine Gun Ownership

The Supreme Court has opted to uphold a longstanding firearm regulation in Washington, D.C., which prohibits magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. This decision comes as the court continues to refrain from taking on new cases that could potentially expand gun rights, even with a conservative majority that typically favors such rights. Just days prior, the court also declined to review a similar law in Rhode Island and maintained Maryland’s ban on assault-style weapons, including the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle. In a significant ruling in 2022, the court had previously recognized that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry firearms beyond the home; however, since then, it has frustrated gun owners by not pursuing cases that could further define this ruling.

Washington, D.C., has long been a contentious arena for firearm regulations. Notably, the Supreme Court’s landmark 2008 decision established an individual right to bear arms for self-defense within one’s home, which stemmed from a challenge to a D.C. law. The current case involved four gun owners who contested the large-capacity magazine restriction, arguing that it contradicts the 2022 decision. Both a federal judge and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the law, with the appeals court affirming that while large-capacity magazines qualify as arms under the Second Amendment, they can still be regulated due to their potential danger.

Additionally, the Supreme Court on Friday chose not to hear a significant election case concerning mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. This decision supports a ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that allows voters with defective mail-in ballots to file a separate in-person ballot. The Republican National Committee aimed to overturn this ruling, while the Democratic National Committee defended it.