The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in the consolidated cases of Viramontes v. Cook County (Illinois) and Grant v. Higgins (Connecticut) for Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 10 a.m., which challenge the bans on so-called “assault weapons” including AR-15 rifles and clones, AK-type rifles and other commonly owned modern semiautomatic rifles and pistols, in Cook County, Illinois and the state of Connecticut.
This has been a long time coming, and for the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its founder, Alan Gottlieb, it is the culmination of years of litigation. There have been other gun ban challenges that were not granted certiorari by the high court, including one filed against the ban in Maryland by SAF’s sister organization, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Both cases involve SAF, which is a legal powerhouse in the gun rights arena.
Breaking Update: SCOTUS has set the date for oral argument in the consolidated AR-15 / assault-weapons merits cases:
• Viramontes v. Cook County, No. 25-238
• Grant v. Higgins, No. 25-566 (consolidated)SET FOR ARGUMENT: Wednesday, December 2, 2026 (1 hour).
Petitioners’… pic.twitter.com/2H2q7B7wD9
— AmmoLand News (@AmmoLand) September 4, 2026
As this report was being prepared, the Justice Department submitted a 40-page amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs.
The brief is signed by Solicitor General John D. Sauer and Assistant Attorneys General Harmeet Dhillon and Brett A. Schumate. From the:
“The right to keep and bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment is among the ‘fundamental rights necessary to our system of ordered liberty.’ McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742, 778 (2010). Millions of Americans exercise that right by owning an AR-15 rifle, which is ‘the most popular rifle in the country.’ Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, 605 U.S. 280, 297 (2025). Yet the State of Connecticut and Cook County, Illinois, have made the possession of AR-15s a crime…Those bans are unconstitutional.”
As reported recently by Ammoland, attorneys general representing 27 states have filed an amicus brief supporting the SAF cases.
In a prepared statement, Gottlieb—who serves as SAF executive vice president—remarked, “Reckoning day for lawmakers in Illinois, Connecticut, and elsewhere across the country, is not far away and it’s high time they are finally put in their place for infringing on the constitutional rights of citizens.
“Throughout SAF’s more than 50-year history,” he continued, “we have fought to ensure Americans could fully exercise their Second Amendment rights, and we are optimistic this case will be a giant leap forward for the right to keep and bear arms. The ruling in this lawsuit will affect generations of lawful gun owners for years to come, and we are hopeful the Supreme Court will deposit these unconstitutional bans where they belong – in the wastebin of history.”
While a ruling will probably not come until June 2027—the Court traditionally holds off the most controversial decisions until the final days of the term—what is said and the questions which are asked during the one-hour arguments on Dec. 2 will give strong hints about how the court will rule.
An affirmative decision, declaring that modern semi-autos are protected by the Second Amendment, will send shockwaves through possibly a dozen states, including California, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington. These Democrat-controlled states have long boasted about their bans and how they are constitutional.
However, as was the case with concealed carry permitting laws in New York and elsewhere, which were struck down by the Court in 2022 in the case known as New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the law wasn’t just suddenly unconstitutional. It was a Second Amendment violation all along.
SAF has been victorious before the Supreme Court already, in its 2010 case known as McDonald v. City of Chicago. That ruling nullified the 30-year handgun ban in Chicago but also did something of significant national importance. It incorporated the Second Amendment to the states via the 14th Amendment, meaning that every state and local gun control law now must comply with the Second Amendment, and thanks to Bruen, the laws must have historical relevance, not just show some state interest.
Between now and the day of the arguments, and then from December until the Court decision is issued, expect the gun prohibition lobby to fill the Op-Ed pages of every liberal newspaper in the country, along with social media and the airwaves, with rhetoric about “weapons of war,” and “threats to public safety.”
But as the 2026 National Firearms Survey by Prof. William English at the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University revealed last month—as reported by TheGunMag.com—these commonly-owned firearms are used for all manner of legitimate purposes. According to the survey:
- Twenty-five percent (25.0%) of gun owners currently own an AR-15 type rifle, 12.9% currently own other similarly styled semi-automatic rifles, and 30.0% – approximately 26.4 million adults – currently own at least one firearm in one of these two categories, with approximately 40 million AR-15 type rifles and 20 million other similarly styled rifles owned in total.
- Overall, Americans own approximately 461 million firearms, consisting of approximately 208 million handguns, 154 million rifles, and 99 million shotguns.
- Approximately 33.6 million gun owners (39.3% of those aged 21 and over) are “public carriers” who are permitted to carry and carry at least sometimes.
- The average gun owner owns about 5.2 firearms, and handguns are the most common type of firearm owned (91.6% of owners).
- More than 50 percent (50.5%) of gun owners – approximately 44.5 million adults – report that they currently own magazines that hold more than 10 rounds (approximately 539 million such magazines in total), and 88.0% of these owners cite a defensive purpose for owning them
- An estimated 37.6% of gun owners have used a firearm to defend themselves, their property, a family member, or a member of their household, and it estimates that guns are used defensively by firearms owners in approximately 2.2 million incidents per year.
Already in the firearms community, prognosticators are anticipating a 6-3 affirmative ruling by the Court. Nine months from now, the nation will know the accuracy of that prediction.
Supreme Court Brief Makes the Case Against Banning Militia Arms
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
