Published July 20, 2026 at 7:57 AM ET · Updated July 22, 2026 at 2:13 AM ET
First Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Massachusetts assault weapons ban
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The First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Massachusetts' assault weapons ban. The Third Circuit Court struck down New Jersey's ban on assault weapons and magazines.
Patriot Watch first flagged this story 1 d ago, when The Truth About Guns reported it. Coverage has since grown to 2 independent outlets. The most recent report came 3 hr ago from The Reload. Verification tier: Corroborated — reported by at least two independent outlets.
⚖ The Constitutional Angle
Under Bruen, Massachusetts must justify its ban by showing consistency with the historical tradition of firearm regulation. Caetano held the Second Amendment reaches all bearable arms, including those not existing at the founding, and that a weapon is not excluded for being unusual or non-military. Whether commonly owned semi-automatic rifles fall outside that protection remains unsettled.
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Kevin P. Bruen, Superintendent of New York State Police 597 U.S. 1 (2022)
Vote: 6-3 · Opinion: Thomas
New York's requirement that applicants demonstrate 'proper cause' — a special need for self-protection distinguishable from the general community — to obtain an unrestricted public-carry license violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public. The Court held the Second Amendment protects a right to carry handguns publicly for self-defense, and rejected the two-step means-end framework lower courts had applied after Heller.
Jaime Caetano v. Massachusetts 577 U.S. 411 (2016)
Vote: Unanimous per curiam (8-member Court, post-Scalia); no recorded vote split · Opinion: Per curiam (unsigned)
Summarily vacating the SJC's judgment without briefing on the merits or oral argument, the Court held that each of the SJC's three rationales contradicted Heller: the Second Amendment extends prima facie to all bearable arms, including those not in existence at the founding; 'unusual' cannot be equated with 'not in common use in 1789'; and protection is not limited to weapons useful in warfare. The case was remanded for further proceedings; the Court did not itself hold the Massachusetts ban unconstitutional.
Precedent facts from the PW Law Library — primary-source verified & independently audited
