(DAILY MAIL) – A US appeals court has ruled that military-style assault weapons are not protected under the US Constitution, dealing a blow to gun rights activists.

In a 10-4 ruling, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said the 45 assault weapons banned under Maryland's law are not protected by the Second Amendment.

'Put simply, we have no power to extend Second Amendment protection to the weapons of war,' wrote Judge Robert King, adding that the Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller explicitly excluded such coverage.

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