Aug 6 (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected arguments by gun rights advocates that Maryland’s ban on assault-style rifles such as AR-15s was unconstitutional, despite a 2022 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that expanded gun rights.
The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a 10-5 vote held, opens new tab that a decade-old assault weapons ban enacted in response to mass shootings and other gun violence does not violate the right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution’s 2nd Amendment.
The ruling came in one of two major 2nd Amendment cases decided by the full 4th Circuit on Tuesday. In a separate opinion, opens new tab, the court in a 13-2 vote reversed a West Virginia federal judge’s ruling that found a federal ban on possessing a gun with its serial number removed was unconstitutional.