![Obama's Issues 23 Executive Orders, His First Step In Broad Gun Control Plan Obama's Issues 23 Executive Orders, His First Step In Broad Gun Control Plan](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/assault-rifle2.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
The U.S. Supreme Court will not take up a challenge to an Illinois assault weapons ban, according to orders released on Monday by the court.
The court denied a writ of certiorari to the case of Arie S. Friedman v. Highland Park, in which the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ban on the possession, sale, and manufacturing of many semiautomatic weapons, including high powered assault rifles in the Illinois town. In that case, the Circuit Court found that gun-owners still had a number of options on weapons they could use to protect themselves with the ban in place.
The lower court also said the ban helps the public feel safer given that many mass shooters, including the couple who recently carried out the attack in San Bernardino, Calif., use these types of weapons.
Read More: Guns Sales Spike Across the U.S.
Though the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear oral arguments on the case indicates they did not see a clear reason to challenge the Circuit Court’s ruling, two Justices–Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas–issued a dissent on that decision. Justice Thomas wrote that,”if a broad ban on firearms can be upheld based on conjecture that the public might feel safer (while being no safer at all), then the Second Amendment guarantees nothing.” Thomas also argued the appellant court decision was at odds with precedent on the issue of assault weapons bans and the Second Amendment.
Read More: Why the San Bernardino Shooting is Unprecedented
Read the full dissent here.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Contact us at letters@time.com