New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has led 11 governors into the U.S. Supreme Court with a single demand: uphold the AR-15-style rifle restrictions in Cook County, Illinois, and in Connecticut. The coalition filed an amicus brief in Viramontes v. Cook County, docketed as 25-238. The Court is set to hear argument in December.
Hochul's office presented the brief as a call to uphold what it calls commonsense gun safety. Governor Meyer joined the multi-state filing. Amicus briefs advise. They do not bind. They do not amend the Constitution. This one asks the justices to leave county and state rifle bans standing when Viramontes v. Cook County is argued.
Governors swear an oath to the Constitution of the United States. They do not swear an oath to a preferred firearms policy. Filing in Viramontes v. Cook County to preserve AR-15-style bans puts that oath to the test. Eleven executives cannot vote the right to keep and bear arms off the books. Docket 25-238 will not be decided by a governors' press release.
The brief adds political volume, not constitutional authority. Hochul led the group. Meyer joined it. The remaining governors in the coalition signed on to the same ask: keep the Cook County and Connecticut restrictions in force. The Court will hear the case in December. The parties will argue. The amici will sit off the caption.
The Second Amendment does not pause for a multi-state brief. It binds Cook County. It binds Connecticut. It binds New York. It binds every official who took the oath. Restrictions on AR-15-style rifles are the policy these governors want the Court to ratify. Ratification is not the judiciary's job. Application of the Constitution is.
December argument in Viramontes v. Cook County is what happens next. The justices will take up the Cook County and Connecticut AR-15-style rifle restrictions on docket 25-238. The Constitution remains the standard. The oath remains the oath. A coalition of 11 governors does not outrank either.
References
- https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-joins-coalition-governors-urge-supreme-court-uphold-commonsense-gun-safety
- https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/viramontes-v-cook-county/
- https://certpool.com/dockets/25-238
- https://www.wgmd.com/governor-meyer-joins-multi-state-brief-on-assault-weapons-restrictions/