Supreme Court Denies Cert in Ocean State Tactical (LCM Challenge)
On June 2, 2025, the Supreme Court denied the petition for a writ of certiorari in Ocean State Tactical LLC v. Rhode Island, No. 24-131[1], leaving the First Circuit's decision upholding Rhode Island's 2022 large capacity magazine ban in place. The denial left the First Circuit Court of Appeals' decision upholding the ban in place.
Background
Ocean State Tactical, LLC and other plaintiffs sued in 2022 in the District of Rhode Island, No. 1:22-cv-00246, challenging Rhode Island's ban on feeding devices capable of holding, or readily extended to hold, more than ten rounds. The plaintiffs argued that the ban violated the Second Amendment under the historical-tradition test established by the Supreme Court in NYSRPA v. Bruen (2022). The District Court denied a preliminary injunction, and the First Circuit affirmed that denial. The District Court held that large capacity magazines are not protected "arms" under the Second Amendment. The First Circuit, on appeal, assumed that magazines are arms but found the ban consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation[2].
Three Justices Would Have Granted Review
Justice Thomas, Justice Alito, and Justice Gorsuch noted that they would have granted the petition for a writ of certiorari. None of the three wrote a separate opinion in this case. Justice Thomas's written dissent from denial that day was filed in the companion Maryland assault weapons case, Snope v. Brown, and addressed AR-15-style rifles rather than magazine restrictions. Second Amendment challengers have argued more broadly that magazines are protected "arms" and that the historical record does not support banning them, arguments the Court declined to take up here.
Impact on Rhode Island
The denial of certiorari means Rhode Island's large capacity magazine ban remains in full effect. The ban prohibits the manufacture, sale, transfer, and possession of magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Owners who kept unmodified large capacity magazines after the original 180-day grace period closed are in violation of the law, while owners who permanently modified, surrendered, or transferred their magazines out of state during that window are compliant. The First Circuit's ruling also has precedential effect in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Puerto Rico, providing a legal foundation for similar bans in those jurisdictions[3].
Future Litigation
While the denial is a significant setback for Second Amendment challengers, it does not foreclose future litigation. The Court may grant certiorari in a similar case from a different circuit.
Update: Supreme Court Grants Cert in Assault Weapons Cases (June 30, 2026)
On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Grant v. Higgins (No. 25-566), the challenge to Connecticut's assault weapons ban decided by the Second Circuit, and consolidated it with Viramontes v. Cook County (No. 25-238) from the Seventh Circuit[4]. The question presented is whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee the right to possess AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles. The consolidated cases are set for one hour of argument on Wednesday, December 2, 2026. The grant does not disturb the cert denial in Ocean State Tactical, and Rhode Island's magazine ban remains in effect.