Two national sheriffs organizations are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Cook County’s ban on AR-15s and similar semiautomatic rifles, arguing that the weapons can be important for self-defense when police cannot arrive quickly enough.
The National Sheriffs’ Association and Western States Sheriffs’ Association filed a legal brief on August 31 supporting the challenge to Cook County’s assault weapons ordinance. The case, Viramontes v. Cook County, has been consolidated with a similar challenge to Connecticut’s statewide ban, and the Supreme Court agreed in June to hear both cases.
The groups, which say they collectively represent thousands of sheriffs nationwide, start their argument with a basic reality of police work: cops cannot be everywhere at once…