The US supreme court will consider whether bans on semi-automatic rifles, often called assault weapons, violate the second amendment.
The justices said on Tuesday they will hear appeals challenging bans on the AR-15 and similar semi-automatic firearms in Connecticut and the Chicago area.
Similar laws are in place in about a dozen states, covering major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC. Congress allowed a national assault weapons ban to expire in 2004, but Democrats have supported renewing it in response to a series of mass shootings. States have also continued to pass their own laws, including recent measures in Virginia and Rhode Island.
