Appeals Court Upholds Massachusetts Semi-Auto Ban

posted on February 23, 2017

In a grossly ill-advised ruling, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld Maryland’s 2013 Firearms Safety Act, which bans 45 types of semi-automatic rifles and imposes a 10-round limit on ammunition magazines. 

"Put simply, we have no power to extend Second Amendment protections to weapons of war," Judge Robert B. King wrote for the majority in a 10-4 en banc ruling. Judge William Byrd Traxler Jr. wrote a dissenting opinion.

"It is absurd to hold that the most popular rifle in America is not a protected ‘arm’ under the Second Amendment,” said NRA spokesman Jennifer Baker in blasting the ruling. The court’s decision, she noted, “clearly ignores the Supreme Court's guidance from District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment protects arms that are ‘in common use at the time for lawful purposes like self-defense.’

Latest

Joseph P. DeBergalis Jr.
Joseph P. DeBergalis Jr.

NRA 2023 Year In Review

None of this would be possible without the enduring support of NRA members.

A Fact Check of Gov. Newsom and Gov. DeSantis on Crime and Guns

To paraphrase the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan they are entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts.

Montana’s AG Explains Why NRA v. Vullo is a Critical Supreme Court Case

“Government should not be able to come in and act like the mafia,” says Montana Attorney General Knudsen.

The Armed Citizen® December 1, 2023

True stories of the right to keep and bear arms.

A Gun-Control Amendment?

Gavin Newsom is openly trying to amend the U.S. Constitution to include what he calls “common-sense” gun-control regulations. It seems he doesn’t understand what’s already plainly written in the Constitution.



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.