A judge in Massachusetts on Friday ruled against a lawsuit that questioned the state’s ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, declaring that the weapons were not protected by the Second Amendment.
Assault weapons are considered to be military firearms, U.S. District Judge William Young said in his ruling, therefore disqualifying them from being included in a citizen’s right to “bear arms.”
Policy makers, rather than the courts, were better suited to decide on the regulation for the weapons, he said.
"Other states are equally free to leave them unregulated and available to their law-abiding citizens," Young said in his ruling. "These policy matters are simply not of constitutional moment. Americans are not afraid of bumptious, raucous and robust debate about these matters. We call it democracy."
The lawsuit was filed against state Attorney General Maura Healey last year by the Gun Owners’ Action League of Massachusetts, among other parties, who claimed that AR-15s couldn’t be considered a “military weapon” because of their inability to shoot in fully automatic mode. They also claimed the ban infringed on Second Amendment rights.