NRA-supported Group Asks High Court To Reverse Gun Ruling

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FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A group of Maryland residents with the support of the National Rifle Association are asking the Supreme Court to reverse a ruling that upheld a Maryland ban on 45 kinds of assault weapons.

The NRA said it filed a petition with the high court Friday.

It seeks to overturn a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Richmond, Virginia. It found the banned guns aren't protected by the Second Amendment.

The NRA says the ruling is a direct contradiction of the Supreme Court's 2008 decision called District of Columbia v. Heller, which reaffirmed self-defense rights.

But in the February appeals court ruling, Judge Robert King wrote "we have no power to extend Second Amendment protections to weapons of war." He added that the Heller case explicitly excluded such coverage.

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