State of Illinois has blocked sale of semi-automatic weapons
2023.01.24 03:02
State of Illinois has blocked sale of semi-automatic weapons
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – After a gunman killed seven people and wounded dozens with an AR-15-type rifle at a July Fourth parade near Chicago, lawmakers quickly passed a state ban on many semi-automatic firearms. On Friday, an Illinois judge temporarily blocked the ban.
State Circuit Court Judge Joshua Morrison sided with hundreds of plaintiffs who challenged the law on the grounds that unconstitutional legislative maneuvers were used to get it passed by the Democratic-controlled state General Assembly. He granted a restraining order.
Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, pushed for the ban’s enactment in the wake of the Independence Day massacre in Highland Park and other nationwide mass shootings earlier this month. The ban was approved by the legislature and immediately signed into law.
The head of the Illinois State Rifle Association stated that the gun measure would hinder nearly 2.5 million gun owners in the state and promised to challenge the ban.
According to the judge’s ruling, the plaintiffs’ claim that legislative rules were circumvented when a bill to amend insurance codes was used as a shell for the gun measure without hearings is likely to be successful on the merits.
“The defendants in this case did not follow the procedural requirements necessary for this legislation to stand up to the strict scrutiny that is required when restricting rights to avoid definitional irreparable harm,” Morrison wrote. “The defendants in this case did not follow the procedural requirements.”
He noted that Pritzker and the state Attorney General Kwame Raoul have refuted the plaintiffs’ claims that the in question legislative strategies restricted a constitutionally protected right to bear arms.
Friday, Pritzker released a statement stating that he was confident the law would survive judicial review and was not surprised by the decision.
He stated, “Although disappointing, it is the first result we’ve seen in many cases brought by plaintiffs whose goal is to advance ideology over public safety.” He was referring to the outcome of the cases.
Many types of weapons, including semi-automatic rifles and pistols with detachable magazines, that automatically load the next round after a shot are prohibited by the new law. The law lists dozens of well-known gun brands manufactured in the United States.
Rapid-fire attachments and.50-caliber guns, as well as rifles with more than 10 bullets and pistols with more than 15, are also prohibited. These weapons can be kept by those who already own them, but they must be registered with the state police.
Similar restrictions have already been enacted in eight additional states and the District of Columbia. Rights groups for gun owners argue that the bans go against the “right to keep and bear arms” in the United States Constitution, despite the fact that many law-abiding Americans own such weapons for hunting, self-defense, and other purposes.
