The recent editorial by Stephen Gutowski, published on July 29, highlights significant developments in Virginia concerning the ban on AR-style rifles. This law, designed to limit the availability of ‘assault firearms,’ has inadvertently sparked a substantial increase in sales just before its implementation in July.

Gutowski suggests that the ban is likely to face invalidation in the Supreme Court within a year. This prediction is based on the Court’s upcoming examination of similar laws in Connecticut and Illinois. The decision to review these cases indicates a strong interest from the justices in debating the legitimacy of such firearm restrictions.

This judicial scrutiny harks back to the 2008 Supreme Court case, District of Columbia v. Heller, where the Court affirmed the Second Amendment rights of individuals to possess guns. As one of the lawyers involved in that landmark case, the concern about state-level restrictions resonates deeply.