SCOTUS Chooses Not To Halt Illinois Gun Law

(RepublicanPress.org) – In January, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) signed the Protect Illinois Communities Act into law. The legislation put regulations on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches across the state. Anyone who already owned items listed in the bill was required to submit an affidavit to that effect to the state police by January 1, 2024. Gun shop owner Robert Bevis and the National Association for Gun Rights sued, and the Supreme Court recently weighed in on the case.

On December 14, CBS News reported that SCOTUS rejected the plaintiffs’ request to reverse the ban, leaving the law in place for now. Bevis and the organization asked the Supreme Court for emergency relief from the law after two lower courts refused to reverse the ban. The matter first hit the district court soon after Pritzker signed the act into law, but that request was rejected as well. The complainants then took the matter to the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.

The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to block an Illinois law banning assault-style weapons, leaving the measure in place while proceedings before a federal appellate court continue. https://t.co/cNIn5PNvk4

— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 14, 2023

The appeals court also refused to stop the ban and rejected requests to rehear the case, so Bevis and the pro-gun organization decided to take the matter to the High Court. They claim the law is causing “irreparable injury” to “law-abiding Illinois citizens.” Bevis’ lawyers also reportedly stated the act is forcing him to close his gun shop.

The new law came about in the wake of the 2022 Highland Park shooting during an Independence Day parade that resulted in seven deaths and dozens of injuries. The law bans the sale and distribution of several high-powered semi automatic weapons like the AK-47 and AR-15. It also bans magazines that can carry more than 10 rounds for long guns and 15 rounds for handguns. The National Association for Gun Rights believes the law violates the Second Amendment.

Others disagree. A nonprofit advocacy group, Protect Illinois Communities, believes the law is a “common sense” way to “keep assault weapons off” the streets of Illinois, according to a statement.