Published July 21, 2026 at 11:53 PM ET · Updated July 22, 2026 at 8:21 AM ET
First Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Massachusetts assault weapons ban
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The First Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the Massachusetts assault weapons ban.
Patriot Watch first flagged this story 9 hr ago, when The Reload reported it. So far this remains a single-source report. The most recent report came 9 hr ago from The Reload. Verification tier: Watching — single-source — not yet independently corroborated.
⚖ The Constitutional Angle
Bruen requires governments to justify firearm regulations by showing consistency with the Nation's historical tradition. Caetano held the Second Amendment extends to all bearable arms including those not in existence at the founding, and unusual cannot mean merely uncommon in 1789. Whether assault weapons bans survive this test is genuinely unsettled at the Supreme Court.
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
