District Court Ruling Sets Up Appellate Court Battle
As we have previously covered, multiple times, a court made a key ruling around the Illinois statewide ban against the future sale, distribution or possession of what are commonly referred to as assault rifles in the ongoing saga concerning the law. Last week United States District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn of the Southern District of Illinois struck down the controversial ban, ruling that it violated the Second Amendment rights of citizens and barred the state from enforcing it, though it did allow a 30 day window until the ruling would take effect. The ruling shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the same judge initially issued a preliminary injunction that was later reversed by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals that would have stopped the law from taking effect, signaling to those challenging the law that they were likely to prevail on the merits of the case. Judge McGlynn wrote in his ruling that, “What is particularly disturbing is that the prohibition of weapons that are commonly owned and used by citizens are now banned, depriving citizens of a principal means to defend themselves and their property in situations where a handgun or shotgun alone would not be the citizen’s preferred arm.” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is expected to appeal the ruling, which will set the law up for further litigation before a definitive ruling will be made on the law. Currently there are two separate challenges to aspects of the law in the district court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, and a separate appeal underway that is already scheduled for oral argument before a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit involving a challenge of Cook County’s local assault weapons ban. Given the multiple challenges and competing cases, it appears likely that the United States Supreme Court will ultimately weigh in on the constitutionality of assault weapons bans across the country in the coming years.