Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/15pdf/15-133_7l48.pdf
Page Number: 1

Cite as:  577 U. S. ____ (2015) 

1 

THOMAS, J., dissenting 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

ARIE S. FRIEDMAN, ET AL. v. CITY OF
 
HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS 

ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED 

STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT
 

No. 15–133.  Decided December 7, 2015
 

The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied. 
JUSTICE  THOMAS,  with  whom  JUSTICE  SCALIA  joins,

dissenting from the denial of certiorari. 

“[O]ur central holding in” District of Columbia v. Heller, 
554  U. S.  570  (2008),  was  “that  the  Second  Amendment 
protects a personal right to keep and bear arms for lawful
purposes,  most  notably  for  self-defense  within  the  home.” 
McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U. S. 742, 780 (2010) (plurality 
opinion).  And  in  McDonald,  we  recognized  that  the  Sec-
ond Amendment applies fully against the States as well as
the Federal Government.  Id., at 750; id., at 805 (THOMAS, 
J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment). 

Despite  these  holdings,  several  Courts  of  Appeals—
including  the  Court  of  Appeals  for  the  Seventh  Circuit  in
the  decision  below—have  upheld  categorical  bans  on
firearms  that  millions  of  Americans  commonly  own  for 
lawful  purposes.  See  784  F. 3d  406,  410–412  (2015).
Because  noncompliance  with  our  Second  Amendment 
precedents warrants this Court’s attention as much as any
of our precedents, I would grant certiorari in this case. 

I 
The  City  of  Highland  Park,  Illinois,  bans  manufactur-
ing, selling, giving, lending, acquiring, or possessing many 
of  the  most  commonly  owned  semiautomatic  firearms, 
which the City branded “Assault Weapons.”  See Highland
Park, Ill., City Code §§136.001(C), 136.005 (2015), App. to
Pet. for Cert. 65a, 71a.  For instance, the ordinance crimi-