Lauren Boebert Responds to AR-15 Gun Ban

Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, an outspoken defender of Second Amendment rights, made a fiery response to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold Illinois' assault weapons ban.

The federal appeals court on Friday upheld Illinois' state ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines in a two-to-one vote by a three-judge panel.

"The 7th Circuit seems to think AR-15s are not protected by the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court is going to have something to say about that one," Boebert said in a post shared on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday. "Shall not be infringed doesn't have an asterisk."

Newsweek has contacted Boebert's office for comment via email.

"As we know from long experience with other fundamental rights, such as the right to free speech, the right peaceably to assemble, the right to vote, and the right to free exercise of religion, even the most important personal freedoms have their limits," Judge Diane Wood said on November 3.

"Government may punish a deliberately false fire alarm, it may condition free assembly on the issuance of a permit, it may require voters to present a valid identification card, and it may punish child abuse even if it is done in the name of religion. The right enshrined in the Second Amendment is no different."

Illinois introduced the ban after seven people were killed and dozens more injured in the 2022 Highland Park July 4 parade mass shooting.

Opponents challenged the ban on the grounds that it violated the Second Amendment and Americans' rights to "keep and bear arms."

Renewed focus has fallen on assault weapons after an AR-15 was used in the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, in October that left 18 people dead and 13 injured.

The shooting in a state with limited firearm control laws ignited debate about gun violence in the U.S. The Gun Violence Archive said that as of November 5 there had been 590 mass shootings—which it defines as a minimum of four victims shot, either injured or killed, not including any shooter—across the country this year.

Boebert's Second Amendment Support

Boebert has lashed out against calls for more firearm restrictions and said in an October 27 X post: "I'm not going to be lectured about gun safety by people who think the 'AR' in AR-15 stands for 'assault rifle.'"

The AR stands for ArmaLite, the company that first designed the firearm in the 1950s before it sold the design to the Colt Manufacturing Company.

Boebert earlier this year co-sponsored a bill alongside other Republican lawmakers that called for the AR-15 to be designated "the National Gun of the United States."

Updated: 11/06/23 12:10 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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