# Cato Files Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Case Challenging Cook County AR-15 Ban 

September 8, 2026 • News Releases 

This term, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in *Viramontes v. Cook County*, which challenges the ban on AR-15s in Cook County, Illinois. Scholars at the Cato Institute, including [Clark Neily](https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://zwly9k6z.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:*2F*2Fwww.cato.org*2Fpeople*2Fclark-neily/1/010001a081d91870-a2a9cf81-f29b-4d8d-ace2-282d1f7ce42a-000000/0Mn7klRNBoO25Mx_YjMEmo87VVg=473___.YXAzOmNhdG9pbnN0aXR1dGU6YTpvOmI4OTczNTJjMWRlMDllYjExNDVlZTRhMmI2NDhlNTk3Ojc6MzJhYTpiYzZhNDBjMzZmZDQwNjE3NmM5ZmU2MWNhY2I5YThhYzYxYzI5MTYyMWY4ZWYxMWNiMmJmNTUwZmFmZjE5YjdjOmg6VDpO), senior vice president for legal studies and co-counsel in *District of Columbia v. Heller*, filed an [amicus brief](https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://zwly9k6z.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:*2F*2Fwww.cato.org*2Fsites*2Fcato.org*2Ffiles*2F2026-09*2FViramontes*2520v*2520Cook*2520County.pdf/1/010001a081d91870-a2a9cf81-f29b-4d8d-ace2-282d1f7ce42a-000000/YoZe8B6tNrQ5NxILuvDFuNR2ytc=473___.YXAzOmNhdG9pbnN0aXR1dGU6YTpvOmI4OTczNTJjMWRlMDllYjExNDVlZTRhMmI2NDhlNTk3Ojc6YWM3ZDpmNTAxNTIyNzJmYTU1M2RlOGEzYTJhYzJjNDA4ZTQyM2U1YTU2MGM5YTUwN2Q1ZjU2YzA1NjVlYmEwYzdmYjA4Omg6VDpO) in this case, and released a statement:

> *“Bans on so-called ‘assault weapons’ exist in roughly a dozen states and represent one of the most culturally fraught issues under the Second Amendment and indeed in all of constitutional law. Deciding the constitutionality of assault weapons bans will test not only the justices’ commitment to the proposition that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right, but also their ability to apply the new ‘text, history, and tradition’ framework to a class of weapons that is more lethal and more effective than the firearms of the founding era.”*

To speak with Neily, contact [Christopher Tarvardian](mailto:ctarvardian@cato.org).

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