Supreme Court to Take Up Texas Assault Weapons Ban on May 14, Arguments in October

The Cert Grant

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Supreme Court has voted to grant review in a constitutional challenge to Texas's ban on most semi-automatic rifles, setting oral argument for October 27 and signaling a major Second Amendment confrontation in the 2026 term, according to two clerks familiar with the court's deliberations. The grant came at the justices' private conference on Friday, May 8, and will be listed on the May 14 order list, the clerks said.

The case, Hollis v. Texas Department of Public Safety, challenges Senate Bill 241, a state law enacted in September 2025 that prohibits the sale and possession of a broad category of centerfire semi-automatic rifles equipped with detachable magazines. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the law in February by a 2-1 vote, applying a historical-tradition test that the challengers say conflicts with the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.

The lead plaintiff, Daniel Hollis, a retired Army sergeant from Killeen, Texas, filed the lawsuit in the Western District of Texas on November 4, 2025, after the Texas Department of Public Safety refused to process his application to purchase a Ruger AR-556 rifle. U.S. District Judge Alan Albright denied a preliminary injunction on December 12, 2025, clearing the way for the Fifth Circuit appeal.

A lawyer who argued the case told The Alamo Post that the petitioner's counsel received informal notice from the court's clerk office on the afternoon of May 8 that the justices had called for a response and were likely to grant. The lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity because the order has not yet been made public. A DOJ official said the Solicitor General's office is preparing a brief supporting the challengers and expects to file by late June.

Four justices voted to grant the petition at the May 8 conference, the two clerks said, meeting the threshold required under the court's rules. A pool memo circulated among chambers on April 22 recommended denying review, but at least one justice asked for the case to be discussed at conference after receiving a response brief from Texas on April 29, the clerks said. The justices typically vote on cert petitions at their Friday conferences and release the results the following Wednesday.

Legal and Political Stakes

The Texas law is one of the most sweeping state-level restrictions on semi-automatic firearms to survive intermediate appeals, and a ruling on the merits could either embolden other states to adopt similar bans or establish a clearer standard that limits such legislation. The Fifth Circuit's majority relied on historical analogues from the late nineteenth century to conclude that the weapons fall outside the Second Amendment's protection. The dissent, authored by Judge Andy Oldham, said the majority misapplied the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Bruen and ignored evidence that semi-automatic rifles are in common use.

The case arrives as state legislatures in Colorado, Washington, and Illinois have moved to tighten restrictions following a series of high-profile shootings during the winter. Gun-rights groups view the Texas litigation as the best vehicle to settle a split among the federal circuit courts over whether so-called assault weapons are protected arms. The National Shooting Sports Foundation filed an amicus brief in support of the petitioners on March 17, citing inconsistent rulings from the Third, Fourth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits.

Texas officials defend the law by pointing to state crime data and by arguing that rifles with detachable magazines are uniquely dangerous in mass-casualty events. The state's opening brief at the Fifth Circuit cited Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives trace data from 2023 and 2024. A spokesman for the Texas attorney general's office declined to comment on the pending Supreme Court order.

A DOJ official with knowledge of the filing said the federal government will argue that the Fifth Circuit erred by treating certain semi-automatic rifles as unprotected based on a narrow reading of history. The official said the Solicitor General's office is expected to authorize the brief by May 20. The brief will likely emphasize that millions of Americans own semi-automatic rifles and that the weapons are in common use, the official said.

What to Watch

The court is expected to release the May 14 order list at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. If the grant is included, as the sources expect, the parties will submit briefs over the summer and the justices will hear argument on October 27, the second week of the 2026 term's argument calendar. A decision would likely come by the end of June 2027.

The case could also affect two pending lawsuits in federal district courts in Austin and Houston. One Austin judge stayed proceedings on April 15, noting that the Supreme Court's eventual guidance would resolve the central legal question. Defense contractors and firearms retailers with operations near Fort Worth have closely tracked the litigation because the ban affects inventory held at a distribution hub along Interstate 35.

Watch for whether the court limits the question presented to the scope of protected arms or also asks the parties to address the appropriate standard of review. The latter could attract broader interest from constitutional scholars and state attorneys general. Two congressional aides briefed on the plan said Senate Republicans plan to file an amicus brief by the July 1 deadline urging the court to clarify that states may not classify common rifles as military-style weapons outside Second Amendment protection.

The Alamo Post will continue to track the docket and report any changes to the argument calendar or the question presented.