After considering them at 15 consecutive conferences, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up two challenges to gun-control laws in Maryland and Rhode Island. In each case, three justices indicated

A split Supreme Court is declining to hear a challenge to state bans on assault weapons, a term referring to semiautomatic rifles that are popular among gun owners and that have also been used in mass shootings.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a challenge to the legality of state restrictions on assault-style rifles and large-capacity ammunition magazines, passing up cases that offered the justices a chance to further expand gun rights.