WASHINGTON —
The U.S. Supreme Court has left in place two states' bans on certain assault-style, semiautomatic rifles.
Pro-gun advocates had filed a challenge to the assault weapons bans in Connecticut and New York, but the court on Monday refused to hear the challenge.
The bans were passed after a gunman with an AR-15 rifle killed 20 children and six educators at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.
Seven states and Washington, D.C. have enacted bans on assault weapons. Automatic weapons are already banned under federal law.
The debate over gun rights in the U.S. has been reignited after an attack earlier this month on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida left 50 people dead, including the gunman.
