Illinois assault weapons ban upheld by federal appeals court, overturning lower-court ruling

A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an Illinois ban on semiautomatic weapons, keeping in place a law passed largely in response to the deadly Highland Park parade mass shooting.

The ban, called the Protect Illinois Communities Act, was passed and quickly signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in January 2023, in response to the Highland Park July 4th parade mass shooting that killed seven people and injured 36. The shooter used a legally purchased semiautomatic weapon.

The law prohibits the sale of more than 100 kinds of semiautomatic firearms and limits magazine capacities.

In a 2-1 opinion on Thursday, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling and upheld the ban. The panel ruled that the law is “consistent with our regulatory tradition” and does not violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

“Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse,” the appeals court said.

The majority opinion also pushes back on claims made by the plaintiffs that semiautomatic weapons are not at fault for mass shootings.

“The undisputed record evidence undercuts that claim, showing that the presence of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines is strongly correlated with the severity of the societal problem,” the opinion states.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals had previously overturned other lower court rulings against the ban that leaned on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that strictly interpret the Second Amendment right to keep and bear firearms.

The injunction was set to take effect 30 days after the judge’s decision. But that same day, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a notice of appeal that ultimately led to a stay in the injunction.

Raoul said Thursday’s decision enhances public safety. “We have seen the damage that assault weapons and large-capacity magazines can inflict, and these weapons of war have no place in our communities,” he said in a statement.

Pritzker said in a post on X that the decision is “a victory in the fight to end gun violence that helps keep our communities safe.”

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association seeking to stop the ban, said it is disappointed with the decision and plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

The gun trade group said it agrees with Chief Judge Michael Brennan’s dissent, in which he wrote that the country prohibits governments from banning “firearms commonly owned for self-defense.”

“Because the people have overwhelmingly chosen the AR-15 rifle and its magazine as their weapon of choice, they are protected by the Second Amendment,” the judge’s dissent states.

The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a legal challenge to a similar Cook County law, which predates the statewide semiautomatic weapons ban, in the fall.