The Associated Press reported that Justices Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, and Thomas "publicly noted their disagreement" with their colleagues' refusal to hear the case.

Thomas, in particular, observed, "I would not wait to decide whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America. That question is of critical importance to tens of millions of law-abiding AR–15 owners throughout the country."

In his dissent, Thomas pointed out:

…To start, AR–15s are clearly "Arms" under the Second Amendment's plain text. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), we held that the term "Arms" in this context covers all "'[w]eapons of offence, or armour of defence.'"…Thus, "the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding."