Breaking News: The Indiana State Rifle & Pistol Association has committed to participate as a represented party in an Amicus Brief being filed with the United States Supreme Court in Cutberto Viramontes, et al. v. Cook County, Illinois, et al., No. 25-238, consolidated for argument with Eddie Grant, Jr., et al. v. Ronnell Higgins, et al., No. 25-566, in support of the Appellants challenging local and state “assault weapons” bans.
Chartered in 1966 as the state-level affiliate of the National Rifle Association, ISRPA exists to promote shooting sports, firearms education and safety, and the preservation of the constitutional right to keep and bear arms for the citizens of Indiana. Joining this Amicus effort is a direct extension of that mission.
What’s at stake. The Supreme Court granted certiorari on June 30, 2026, to resolve whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right to possess AR-15-platform and similar semiautomatic rifles — the most popular class of rifle owned by Americans today. The case arrives at the Court after the Seventh Circuit upheld Cook County’s ban on the theory that these commonly owned rifles fall outside the Second Amendment’s protection entirely. A ruling that endorses that reasoning would give local and state governments a roadmap to ban whole categories of firearms simply by classifying them as “assault weapons” — regardless of how many law-abiding citizens own and rely on them for self-defense, hunting, and sport.
For ISRPA’s members, and for gun owners nationwide, this case is a civil-rights case in the truest sense: it will determine whether the right to keep and bear arms is treated as a fundamental, individual liberty — on par with other rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights — or as a privilege that can be narrowed away by local ordinance. Indiana’s own gun owners are not immune from the precedent this case will set; a decision favoring expansive gun-ban authority could embolden similar restrictions well beyond Illinois and Connecticut.
ISRPA has agreed to support the efforts of attorney and former Virginia Attorney General, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II, and fellow amici in preparing and filing this brief, which will argue for an aggressive, historically grounded defense of the right to keep and bear arms, building on the Supreme Court’s reasoning in Heller and Bruen.
How you can help. To be formally named as a party to the Amicus Brief, ISRPA must contribute $1,000 toward the effort. We are asking members to help us reach that goal. ISRPA WILL DIRECT 100% OF THE NEXT 40 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS TO THIS CAUSE. Contributions of any size are welcome and will go directly toward securing ISRPA’s place among the voices defending your Second Amendment rights before the Supreme Court. Watch for contribution instructions in this newsletter and in follow-up communications, and thank you, as always, for your support of ISRPA and the Second Amendment.
Charlie Hiltunen
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