{"id":219431,"date":"2025-08-28T02:52:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T07:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=219431"},"modified":"2025-09-23T09:48:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T14:48:57","slug":"saf-pushes-supreme-court-to-strike-down-assault-weapons-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/saf-pushes-supreme-court-to-strike-down-assault-weapons-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"SAF Pushes Supreme Court to Strike Down ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is taking its fight against Illinois-style gun bans to the highest court in the land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 27, 2025, the group formally petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review Viramontes v. Cook County<\/a><\/em>, a long-running case challenging the county\u2019s prohibition on so-called \u201cassault weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Case Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Filed in 2021, Viramontes<\/em> was paused while the Supreme Court decided Bruen<\/em> in 2022 and while Illinois lawmakers passed their own sweeping \u201cassault weapons\u201d ban\u2014legislation now under fire in SAF\u2019s separate case, Harrel v. Raoul<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cook County\u2019s ordinance mirrors the statewide law, barring ownership of AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles that millions of Americans lawfully own. SAF is joined in the suit by the Firearms Policy Coalition and two private citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why This Case Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to SAF, the Cook County ban strikes at the heart of the Second Amendment by outlawing ordinary firearms in common use. The group points out that \u201cassault weapon\u201d is a political invention designed to blur the line between semi-automatics and machine guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEE ALSO: The Mozambique Drill in The Movies<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Sack, SAF\u2019s Director of Legal Operations, said the Supreme Court has signaled interest in taking up rifle bans soon, and that this case is \u201ca solid vehicle for that review.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice Clarence Thomas recently underscored that point in his dissent from the denial of Snope v. Brown<\/a><\/em>, warning that continued delays leave millions of Americans stripped of their rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAF\u2019s Position<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb criticized Cook County\u2019s law as an ideological attempt to disarm residents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe disenfranchisement of an entire population of residents is an absolute infringement on their Second Amendment rights,” he said. “We\u2019ve fought this case for far too long and it\u2019s time for the Supreme Court to step in.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The petition argues that AR-15s<\/a> are functionally no different from other semi-automatic rifles<\/a>, making them protected under the Court\u2019s Heller<\/em> and Bruen<\/em> precedents, which safeguard firearms in \u201ccommon use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s Next<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If the Supreme Court agrees to hear Viramontes<\/em>, the case could become a major test of whether bans on America\u2019s most popular rifles<\/a> can stand under the Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Illinois\u2019 statewide ban also under review in Harrel v. Raoul<\/em>, the stakes are high. A ruling could not only resolve years of litigation in Chicago\u2019s Cook County but also ripple across states like California, New York, and New Jersey, which enforce similar restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n