Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

Supreme Court Declines To Block Illinois Gun Law

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The Supreme Court denied the National Association for Gun Rights’ request for an emergency injunction against Illinois’ “assault weapons” ban.

Illinois passed a ban on semiautomatic firearms and magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds for long guns and 15 rounds for handguns in January, shortly after the City of Naperville’s similar ban on the sale of “assault weapons” took effect, prompting swift legal action from gun store owners and gun rights groups. The National Association for Gun Rights, along with a gun shop owner, filed an emergency application for an injunction pending appeal on April 26 with Justice Amy Coney Barret, who oversees petitions from the Seventh Circuit.

Following the Supreme Court’s order, the law will remain in place for now while legal challenges continue.

Citing New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, a Supreme Court decision issued last summer that struck down New York state’s concealed carry law, the groups argue that the case is “exceedingly simple”: Illinois’ law is clearly unconstitutional.

“This is an exceedingly simple case,” the National Association for Gun Rights wrote in its application. “The Second Amendment protects arms that are commonly possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, especially self-defense in the home.”

“In the teeth of this Court’s precedents, the district court refused to address the evidence that the arms banned by the challenged laws are held by millions of law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes,” the groups continued.

Bruen found that all gun regulations must be “consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation” in order for a court to determine it is acceptable under the Second Amendment. The district court’s decision shows “many of the lower courts did not get the [Supreme Court’s] message” in Bruen, the groups argue.

The Seventh Circuit and district court previously denied the applicants’ request for an injunction pending appeal.

In their response to the application requested by Barrett, Illinois told the Court that the groups have not demonstrated that they are likely to prevail on their Second Amendment violation claim and have “failed to show that crucial or exigent circumstances exist that would require this Court’s immediate intervention.”