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A federal judge temporarily blocked a bill banning so-called “assault weapons” in Illinois on Friday, arguing those filing lawsuits against the state for violating their Second Amendment rights have a strong case.
U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn issued a preliminary injunction against Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA), which bans the sale of semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines.
Judge McGlynn argued PICA “obliterated” the rights of the people to defend themselves by banning hundreds of different types of firearms.
“While PICA was purportedly enacted in response to the Highland Park shooting, it does not appear that the legislature considered an
individual’s right under the Second Amendment nor Supreme Court precedent,” he wrote.
“Moreover, PICA did not just regulate the rights of the people to defend themselves; it restricted that right, and in some cases, completely obliterated that right by criminalizing the purchase and the sale of more than 190 ‘arms.’”
He also noted that plaintiffs suing the state for claiming the law violates their Second Amendment have a “reasonable likelihood” of winning their cases.
In addition to banning many semiautomatic firearms, PICA also requires citizens to register their existing semiautomatic rifles with the government.
“The new law also requires existing owners of semi-automatic rifles to register their ownership, ensuring that law enforcement knows the location of these weapons of war and who to hold accountable if they fall into the wrong hands,” Pritzker’s office said in a statement after the governor signed the bill into law in January.
Sheriffs in over 80 Illinois counties vowed not to enforce the gun ban, calling it a “clear violation” of the Second Amendment.
Edwards County Sheriff Darby Boewe had released the following statement after the bill was signed into law:
Part of my duties that I accepted upon being sworn into office was to protect the rights provided to all of us, in the Constitution. One of those rights enumerated is the right of the people to KEEP and BEAR ARMS provided under the 2nd Amendment. The right to keep and bear arms for defense of life, liberty and property is regarded as an inalienable right by the people.
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