Today a petition was filed with the United States Supreme Court, asking it to hear the NRA-backed challenge to Illinois’ ban on popular semi-automatic firearms and standard-capacity magazines.
The lawsuit was filed as soon as the bill was signed into law. It got off to a strong start by securing a preliminary injunction that prevented the law from taking effect. But the Chicago-based Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that, holding that these commonly owned firearms and magazines are not “arms” under the Second Amendment. That decision could not go unchallenged—especially coming just a year after the Supreme Court decided New York Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen.
“Rather than trim back existing restrictions on constitutionally protected rights to comply with Bruen Illinois promptly enacted the most restrictive firearms law in the state’s 200-year history, banning the possession of more than 1,000 previously lawful semiautomatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns, including many of the most popular models in the country, along with their component parts, plus ubiquitous ammunition feeding devices,” the petition argues. “More remarkable still, a divided panel of the Seventh Circuit vindicated that massive resistance by resurrecting pre-Bruen caselaw and embracing the novel theory that Illinois’ law does not even implicate the Second Amendment and trigger the state’s burden to prove that it is ‘consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.’”
“It is unfortunate that this Court needs to intervene just two years after Bruen to remind lower courts that they are not free to pick and choose among fundamental rights or Supreme Court precedents,” the petition concludes. “But it is imperative that this Court do so. HB5471 is ‘stop me if you can’ legislation. This Court can, and it should.”
The case is captioned Barnett v. Raoul. It was filed in the Southern District of Illinois on behalf of individual plaintiffs and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on NRA-ILA’s ongoing efforts to defend your constitutional rights.
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