On Monday, September 8, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in a case challenging Washington State’s ban on firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.
Washington prohibits the manufacture, importation, distribution, or sale of any ammunition feeding device capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. On April 8, 2024, a trial court held that the law violates both the U.S. and Washington State Constitutions. On May 8, 2025, however, the Washington Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision and upheld the law, concluding that magazines are not “arms,” but rather “attachments to weapons, or accessories.”
The petitioners then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. Today, the NRA filed its second amicus brief in the case, urging the Court to grant the petition.
The brief emphasizes that this case presents an opportunity for the Court to resolve two key Second Amendment issues dividing lower courts. First, the Court could clarify that magazines are indeed “arms” under the Second Amendment’s plain text, regardless of capacity. And second, the Court could clarify that consideration of whether an arm is “common”—as opposed to “dangerous and unusual”—is a question of historical tradition rather than textual analysis.
The petition in this case, Gator’s Custom Guns, Inc. v. State of Washington, follows a related petition filed last month in the NRA-supported case, Duncan v. Bonta, which challenges California’s ban and confiscation of magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
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