FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 22, 2025
HARTFORD, Conn. — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday upheld Connecticut’s bans on commonly owned rifles and standard-capacity magazines, a decision gun rights advocates say directly conflicts with Supreme Court precedent.
The ruling came in National Association for Gun Rights v. Lamont and Grant v. Rovella, two consolidated challenges to Connecticut’s restrictions on so-called assault weapons and magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds.
The National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) argued that AR-15 style rifles and standard magazines are among the most popular firearms and accessories in the nation, owned by millions of law-abiding citizens for self-defense, hunting, and sport shooting. The Second Circuit rejected those arguments, concluding the state’s bans are consistent with what it called a tradition of regulating “unusually dangerous” weapons.
“This opinion is a brazen act of defiance against the Supreme Court,” said Hannah Hill, Vice President of the National Foundation for Gun Rights. “Oral arguments before the female-dominated panel felt like going before the legal version of The View — utterly hostile to both principle, common sense, and the Bill of Rights. This ruling absolutely follows that theme.”
The Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008 that firearms “in common use” by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes cannot be banned. Gun rights advocates say lower courts have defied that precedent, upholding sweeping prohibitions with little regard for Supreme Court rulings.
“The reality is that appellate courts across the country are in open revolt against the High Court’s rulings,” said Dudley Brown, President of the National Association for Gun Rights. “That’s why we are continuing to press these cases in the lower courts, building strong records and keeping the pressure on until the Supreme Court finally decides to step in. When the dominoes start falling, the justices will have no choice but to decide the issue.”
The National Association for Gun Rights said it will return the case to the district court to begin the full merits process while monitoring other challenges moving through appellate courts nationwide.
“The Second Amendment doesn’t mean whatever a hostile appeals court wants it to mean,” Hill said. “For over two centuries — and reaffirmed time and again by the Supreme Court — the rule has been crystal clear: arms in common use by law-abiding Americans cannot be banned. Yet courts like the Second Circuit treat the Constitution as optional. We will not stop until the plain text of the Second Amendment is enforced nationwide, and the right of the people is finally respected.”
For more information, contact Taylor Rhodes at [email protected].
The National Association for Gun Rights is a 501(c)(4) organization headquartered in Loveland, Colorado, dedicated to defending the Second Amendment and fighting for the rights of peaceable Americans to keep and bear arms. Since its founding in 2001, NAGR has worked to hold anti-gun politicians accountable and promote maximum individual liberty by mobilizing more than 4.5 million members and grassroots activists nationwide.
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