The Constitutional Fight Over Magazine Bans Is Heating Up

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• 14 May
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As the firearms industry and Second Amendment community continue waiting for movement from the Supreme Court in Duncan v. Bonta, the national legal landscape surrounding magazine bans continues to intensify.

Last week, the federal Department of Justice announced a lawsuit challenging Colorado’s prohibition on magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. The action adds even more weight to the growing constitutional battle over so-called “large capacity” magazine restrictions and further highlights the expanding divide among courts across the country.

That pressure was already mounting following the decision in Benson v. United States, which contributed to a developing circuit split concerning whether commonly owned magazines are protected “arms” under the Second Amendment.

At the center of these cases is one of the most important unresolved constitutional questions remaining after recent Supreme Court Second Amendment decisions: What qualifies as an “arm” protected by the Constitution?

The Supreme Court has already addressed who possesses Second Amendment rights and where those rights apply. The next major issue is defining the scope of protected arms themselves. That determination will have sweeping implications for magazine bans, firearm component restrictions, and future attempts by states to limit constitutionally protected arms through legislative definitions and semantic maneuvering.

Rights lose meaning when governments can evade constitutional protections through regulatory wordplay. The coming decisions may ultimately determine whether commonly owned firearms and accessories receive the full constitutional protection the Second Amendment demands.

MAPC will continue monitoring these developments closely as the legal fight over magazine bans and the broader definition of protected arms moves toward what could become another landmark constitutional reckoning.