Massachusetts Assault Weapons Ban To Stay: Court

A challenge to the state's assault weapons ban has been rejected by a federal appeals court. The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Friday upheld a judge's ruling that dismissed a lawsuit challenging the 20-year-old ban. U.S. District Judge William Young recently said assault weapons are military firearms that fall beyond the reach of the constitutional right to bear arms.

The Gun Owners' Action League of Massachusetts, which filed the lawsuit with other gun advocacy groups, argued that the AR-15 cannot be considered a "military weapon" because it cannot fire in fully automatic mode. The rifle, which has been described as "assault-style," has fallen under increased scrutiny because of its use in many recent mass shootings.

"The AR-15 and its analogs, along with large capacity magazines, are simply not weapons within the original meaning of the individual constitutional right to 'bear arms,'" Young wrote.

Young also upheld Healey's 2016 enforcement notice to gun sellers and manufacturers clarifying what constitutes a "copy" or "duplicate" weapon under the state's 1998 assault weapon ban, including copies of the Colt AR-15 and the Kalashnikov AK-47.

Healey's stepped-up enforcement followed the shooting rampage at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 patrons. She said at the time that gun manufacturers were circumventing Massachusetts' ban by selling copycat versions of the weapons they claimed complied with the law.

The last school-related shooting in Massachusetts was outside a Dorchester school in June 2016.

The Massachusetts assault weapons ban mirrors the federal ban that expired in 2004. It prohibits the sale of specific and name-brand weapons and explicitly bans copies or duplicates of those weapons.

In its ruling last week, the appeals court affirmed Young's decision, writing, "the record contains ample evidence of the unique dangers posed by the proscribed weapons."

Healey called the ruling "a defeat for the gun lobby and a victory for families everywhere."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.