Gun ownership remains one of the most hotly contested topics in American society. This includes in the courts, where 2022's New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruenchanged the playing field by establishing the "historical tradition test" to be applied in cases contesting the constitutionality of various gun laws. The precedent has led to a bevy of pro-gun legal challenges, with many of them successful.
However, the results haven't been entirely one-sided. On August 22, 2025, a Second Circuit panel of judges denied an appeal made by a pair of gun rights advocate groups challenging Connecticut's virtual ban on AR-15 rifle ownership in the state. New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen played a deciding factor in the ban being upheld. Whether it becomes the case to allow SCOTUS to rule on the legality of semi-automatic long guns like AR-15s is yet to be determined.
1789 Standards for the Modern World
In Bruen, the SCOTUS decision led to a test for using the "historical tradition of firearm regulation" to determine whether gun bans or restrictions are constitutional violations. The decision has allowed the new test to be applied in a number of cases that returned favorable rulings for gun enthusiasts.
Some of the more conservative SCOTUS Justices have repeatedly called for the court to take up a case that allows it to provide a definitive ruling on semi-automatic long guns like the AR-15, but that's yet to occur.
The AR-15 style of rifle was developed in the late 1950s by ArmaLite (the AR in AR-15 stands for ArmaLite Rifle, not "assault rifle"). It sold the patent to Colt in 1959. While the fully automatic M16 was designed for military use, the AR-15 was intended for use by law enforcement and civilians. Once Colt's patent expired, the design was adopted by other gun manufacturers.
While the weapon type had been used in previous mass shootings, it received attention like never before after a single shooter killed 20 schoolchildren between the ages of six and seven and six adults at a school in Newton, Connecticut, in 2012. Connecticut responded with An Act Concerning Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety in 2013, which imposed severe restrictions on AR-15-style rifles. These include limits on magazine size and requiring purchasers to have a long gun eligibility certificate.
Legal challenges from gun rights advocates claiming the state's new law violated the Second Amendment appeared immediately. The Act defeated all attempts to have it struck down before a new challenger presented itself in a suit filed by the National Association for Gun Rights in 2022 after the Bruen decision.
The Second Circuit's Interpretation of Bruen
With the Second Circuit's decision on August 22, the Act still remains undefeated. The Connecticut law specifies the restriction or banning of any firearm determined to be an "unusually dangerous weapon." The plaintiffs argued that the most popular long gun in the U.S. is hardly "unusual."
However, the appellate court countered that when put in the context of the "historical tradition of firearm regulation," AR-15 long guns have proven to be unusually dangerous when compared to other forms of self-defense or legal firearms. Due to the characteristics of the long guns, which are easily adapted to increase fire rates and cartridge magazines, they offer a greater magnitude of danger.
This decision follows closely on the heels of a Sixth Circuit decision upholding a federal regulation on "machine guns." Connecticut's Act still stands, but with challenges to gun restrictions popping up all over federal courts, it's likely we'll hear more from SCOTUS in the near future.
Related Resources
- Frequently Asked Questions About the Second Amendment Right To Keep and Bear Arms (FindLaw's Second Amendment)
- Supreme Court Denies Challenge to Law Prohibiting Guns for People Under Restraining Orders (FindLaw's Federal Courts)
- The Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban (FindLaw's Domestic Violence Law and Resource Center)
