On November 7th, 2025 Connecticut Citizens Defense League, Inc. was proud to announce we filed our “Assault Weapons” case with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). We tirelessly updated our members over the following 7 months while we anxiously awaited a response from the nation’s highest court. On June 30th, our petition for certiorari was GRANTED. This was, and will forever be, one of the most groundbreaking moments in Connecticut 2A history.
Today, our legal team filed our opening brief, taking the next huge step toward the restoration of our freedoms. Our brief carefully and methodically dismantles Connecticut’s “Assault Weapon” ban using decades of established Second and Fourteenth Amendment case law. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) established the History and Tradition test for determining the constitutionality of gun bans, but 18 years later it is still ignored by the Connecticut legislature as they push unconstitutional firearm bans year after year.
“Applying Heller’s analysis to this case, the outcome is clear-“the people” have a right to possess AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles.”
-CCDL’s Grant v Higgins (Lamont) Brief, 2026
Not long after the Heller decision, Connecticut passed SB1160, rammed through with emergency certification in 2013. CCDL immediately challenged the new ban. Our lawsuit, Shew v Malloy, was filed that same year. We faced the predictable loses in Connecticut and Second Circuit Courts, bringing us to petition the Supreme Court for review. Ultimately SCOTUS denied certiorari to Shew in 2016. This marked the end of the lawsuit, leaving us with no further recourse.
And then came Bruen.
SCOTUS decided the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA) versus Bruen decision in 2022. After more than 10 years of battling the New York courts, and the same Second Circuit Court where we litigate, SCOTUS issued a decision in NYSRPA v Bruen. This decision clarified the History and Tradition test – that the government bears the burden toprove its restrictions align with historical traditions of American firearm regulation.
“Under this Court’s precedents, there can be no doubt that AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles are in common use and therefore protected by the Second Amendment”
-CCDL’s Grant v Higgins (Lamont) Brief, 2026
This re-opened the door for CCDL to challenge CT’s “Assault Weapon” ban. Shortly after filing Grant v. Lamont, (renamed Grant v. Higgins), Lamont signed HB6667 into law, which banned “CT others” and a host of other 2A activities. CCDL immediately amended its complaint to capture the newly banned firearms but was again rebuffed in its lower court challenges. Working our way up the appellate ladder, we again petitioned the Supreme Court for writ of certiorari.
That brings us to this historical moment. As you know, our petition for review before the Supreme Court was granted. Our brief has now been filed, and we encourage you to read it below. The government has until October 21st to file its opposition brief. Once the government has filed, and we have file a reply brief, we will receive a date that SCOTUS will hear oral argument on our case. It will be later in the year, and we can only speculate, but we hope to secure a hearing date in December of this year. This should give the court plenty of time to issue a decision by the end of the 2026 term (June 2027).
Read the full brief HERE and become a CCDL Member to receive email updates about our case.
Thank you to each and every one of our tens of thousands of members. It has been a long road and the fight is FAR from over. Please donate today to support our fierce advocacy efforts, Carry On!
With gratitude,
The Connecticut Citizens Defense League (CCDL)