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Supreme Court leaves state assault weapons bans in place

<p>Following the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, the U.S. Senate quickly <a href="http://newsy.com/60943/" target="_blank">proposed several gun control measures</a>. But the Supreme Court seems to be avoiding the issue altogether.</p><p>On Monday, the court <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/supreme-court-assault-weapons/487802/?utm_source=atlfb" target="_blank">declined to hear</a> a constitutional challenge to a Connecticut gun control law that was passed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.</p><p>The law bans some firearms with large capacity magazines. Pro-gun groups challenged the law, but the court seems ready to let it and other Second Amendment rulings stand. </p><p>The Supreme Court's last major ruling on the Second Amendment was <a href="https://www.loc.gov/law/help/second-amendment.php" target="_blank">District of Columbia v. Heller</a> in 2008, and that ruling was updated in 2010. Since then, the court has stayed away from one of the biggest political issues in the country.</p><p>But gun rights advocates are undeterred. One Connecticut group said it <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/20/politics/supreme-court-declines-consideration-of-law-banning-some-semi-automatic-assault-weapons/index.html" target="_blank">plans to renew its challenge</a> “as soon as there are five Justices sitting on the Supreme Court committed to the proper understanding of the Second Amendment."</p><p><i>This video includes images from Getty Images.</i></p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/has-the-president-usurped-the-constitutional-power-of-congress/">Has The President Usurped The Constitutional Power Of Congress?</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/donald-trump-says-goodbye-to-his-campaign-manager/">Donald Trump Says Goodbye To His Campaign Manager</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/senate-to-vote-on-gun-control-measures-none-expected-to-pass/">Senate To Vote On Gun Control Measures, None Expected To Pass</a></li></ul>
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected challenges to assault weapons bans in Connecticut and New York, in the aftermath of the shooting attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that left 50 people dead.

The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that upheld laws that were passed in response to another mass shooting involving a semi-automatic weapon, the elementary school attack in Newtown, Connecticut.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly turned away challenges to gun restrictions since two landmark decisions that spelled out the right to a handgun to defend one's own home.

In December, less than a month after a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia dissented when the court refused to hear an appeal to overturn a Chicago suburb's ban on assault weapons. Scalia died in February.

Seven states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws banning assault weapons. The others are California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. In addition, Minnesota and Virginia regulate assault weapons, the center said.

Connecticut and New York enacted bans on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines in response to the December 2012 massacre of 20 children and six educators at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The gunman, Adam Lanza, shot and killed his mother before driving to the school where he gunned down the victims with a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle. Lanza then killed himself.

In Orlando, gunman Omar Mateen used a Sig Sauer MCX semi-automatic rifle and a pistol during the attack at Pulse nightclub. Mateen was killed in a shootout with police after killing 49 others.