Supreme Court Refuses To Block Illinois Assault Weapons Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court has once again refused to block Illinois’ prohibition on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
A firearm rights group and a gun store proprietor had asked the high court for an emergency intervention, contending the ban infringes upon their constitutional right to bear arms. However, the justices denied their urgent request.
This latest decision came in a brief order with no noted dissent. While the issue could return to the Court in the future, for now, the law remains in effect.
In response to a tragic mass shooting during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park that left seven dead and many injured, Illinois—led by its Democrat-majority government—passed tighter restrictions on firearms.
The legislation, signed into law by Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker in January, penalizes individuals who “carries or possesses… manufactures, sells, delivers, imports, or purchases any assault weapon or .50 caliber rifle.”
It also criminalizes the “sells, manufactures, delivers, imports, possesses, or purchases any assault weapon attachment or .50 caliber cartridge.”
Devices designed to increase the firing speed of semi-automatic firearms fall under the ban as well. The law also caps magazine capacity. With Thursday’s decision, litigation over the matter will now proceed in the lower courts.
Robert Bevis, owner of Law Weapons and Supply, along with the National Association for Gun Rights, argue that these statutes contradict the Supreme Court’s revised framework for interpreting the Second Amendment.
“Delaying a right results in its denial, and enforcing these gun bans every day is an affront to freedom,” said Dudley Brown, president of the organization. “We will be back to the Supreme Court as soon as our legal team finishes drafting our cert petition, and they will have to decide if they meant what they said in Heller and Bruen.”
In a landmark ruling last year, the Court’s conservative majority declared that modern gun laws must align with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Back in February, a federal district court judge opted not to suspend the state’s law or the local ordinance at the preliminary stage.
Then, a panel of three judges from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision just last month. In response, the challengers filed with the Supreme Court, seeking to delay the law’s enforcement while their appeal moved forward.
“In summary, the Seventh Circuit’s decision was manifestly erroneous,” they stated in their court filings. “In the meantime, plaintiffs and hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Illinois citizens are suffering irreparable injury because their fundamental right to keep and bear arms is being infringed.”
Illinois, in its rebuttal, claimed the challengers didn’t meet the “stringent standards” the Supreme Court requires for emergency relief.
The state urged the justices to reject the request—one that none of the other plaintiffs in the six related cases had made—citing similar reasoning.
Despite its expansion of Second Amendment protections last year, the Supreme Court has consistently declined to pause the implementation of gun control laws through emergency appeals.
The justices are currently deliberating a separate case challenging a federal law that bars individuals with restraining orders from owning firearms. A decision in that case is expected by the end of June and could provide clarity on how the Court will apply its test moving forward.