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The Shooting Wire

Friday, September 11, 2026  ■  Courts

FPC Thanks Amici for Support in U.S. Supreme Court Case to End "Assault Weapon" Bans Nationwide

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) thanked the numerous people and groups that filed amicus briefs with the United States Supreme Court in support of its Viramontes v. Cook County lawsuit, which asks the Court to hold that bans on so-called "assault weapons" are unconstitutional and that the semiautomatic rifles at issue are protected by the Second Amendment.

"We are deeply grateful to every person and organization that stepped forward to support our case and the rights of the People," said FPC President Brandon Combs. "These briefs reinforce what we argued in our petition—that our case prevails from every angle: text, history, data, ballistics, real-world use, and constitutional principle—and further demonstrate why the government cannot ban some of the most popular arms in America, period. This historic support strengthens our fight to eliminate these immoral and unconstitutional bans nationwide, and we are honored to Fight Forward alongside so many allies for liberty. On behalf of everyone at FPC and our FPC Grassroots Army, thank you."

The Viramontes parties, which include FPC, two of its individual members, and the Second Amendment Foundation, are represented by David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson, William V. Bergstrom, and J. Joel Alicea of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC. Case documents in Viramontes v. Cook County can be viewed at firearmspolicy.org/viramontes.

Notable excerpts from the amicus briefs include:

The United States: "The AR-15 rifle is unquestionably in common use among law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes. Today, AR-15s are lawful at the federal level and in 40 States. The overwhelming majority of AR-15 owners possess those rifles for the lawful purposes to which they are adapted, such as self-defense in the home, hunting, and target shooting. A ban on possessing such rifles thus violates the Second Amendment."

Professor William English and The Center for Human Liberty: "The National Firearms Survey's 2026 wave was fielded by a professional firm to a representative sample of over 51,000 American adults. It reliably shows that roughly one in ten American adults currently owns an AR-15 or similarly styled semi-automatic rifle: 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."

Ballistics Experts and Second Amendment Law Professors: "The Seventh and Second Circuits claim these rifles are super-dangerous—too powerful and rapid-fire for citizens to have. They are not. They fire the same bullets, at the same velocity, as any other non-banned rifle of the same caliber. The banned rifles are not machine guns—they fire at the same rate as common handguns. The wounds they cause are generally less severe than wounds from other common long guns. They are not unusually dangerous just because they have been used in some mass public shootings."

Professor Gary Kleck and FPC Action Foundation: "In short, defining an 'assault weapon' based on its ability to accept 'large-capacity magazines' makes no sense. But this is not lost on legislatures seeking to ban AR-15s; the statutory definitions are simply designed to sweep in all AR-15s and similar semiautomatic rifles, regardless of whether the gun is actually used with so-called large-capacity magazines."

California Gun Rights Foundation, Danielle Jaymes, and Use of Force Experts: "AR-15s offer several additional advantages over common alternative firearms. In particular, it is easier to gain—and then maintain—proficiency with the AR-15 platform rifle than with a handgun. The AR-15's straight-line design reduces recoil and makes the rifle easier to control and operate than other long guns. Lower recoil and better control mean better accuracy for most shooters, even very experienced ones. And the AR-15's modularity allows owners to outfit their rifle to the task of home defense: a sling to free up a hand and facilitate movement; a mounted flashlight to spot and identify an intruder; optics to engage the target."

Amicus briefs in support of FPC and the other Supreme Court petitioners were filed by or on behalf of the following individuals, organizations, officials, groups, and states:

Individuals who want to join the FPC Grassroots Army and help support important lawsuits like this one can visit JoinFPC.org.

About Firearms Policy Coalition

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) is a nonprofit membership organization that exists to create a world of maximal individual liberty and eliminate unconstitutional gun control laws. FPC works—and wins—for the People through high-impact strategic litigation, groundbreaking research, legislative and regulatory advocacy, grassroots activism, education, and public engagement. FPC's legal division, FPC Law, is the nation's leading initiative dedicated to restoring the right to keep and bear arms across the United States. To learn more about how FPC is working—and winning—for the People, sign up for FPC news alerts at firearmspolicy.org and follow FPC on X, Instagram, and Facebook.

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