(The Center Square) − Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has joined a coalition of 27 states urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a law in the state of Washington that bans the sale and possession of firearm magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
“Shall not be infringed,” Murrill told The Center Square in a statement.
The states filed an amicus brief in Gator’s Custom Guns, Inc. v. State of Washington. They say the Washington Supreme Court wrongly upheld the ban earlier this year, despite clear precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court affirming the right to bear commonly used arms.
“The Supreme Court needs to step in to uphold Americans’ right to keep and bear arms,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who led the coalition, said in announcing the filing. “Law-abiding citizens should not be treated like criminals for exercising their right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.”
The 2022 Washington law was initially struck down by a Cowlitz County judge, who found it violated the Second Amendment. But in May, Washington’s high court reversed that ruling, finding magazines were not protected “arms” under the Constitution.
The coalition brief, joined by Murrill and other attorneys general, says magazines are integral to modern firearms and are overwhelmingly owned by citizens for lawful purposes such as self-defense, hunting, and sporting. It points to studies estimating that nearly half of U.S. gun owners possess such magazines, with as many as 542 million in circulation
“Handguns sold with magazines with capacities over ten have been widely available for many years,” the brief notes, citing the Glock 17 pistol as one of many common firearms that come standard with magazines exceeding the Washington limit.
The filing also warns that by treating magazines as “accessories” rather than essential components, states could sidestep constitutional protections and effectively ban large categories of modern firearms.
Murrill, who has frequently taken Louisiana into multistate legal fights over federal and state gun restrictions, aligned with attorneys general from states including Texas, Mississippi, and Kentucky in pressing the court to hear the case.
The Supreme Court will now decide whether to take up the dispute. If it does, the case could set new national precedent on how far states can go in regulating magazine capacity under the Second Amendment.
