DEERFIELD (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Lake County judge has tossed out Deerfield's ban on assault weapons.
The judge said Deerfield's ban on assault weapons cannot be enforced — and that the state legislature decided half a dozen years ago that only the legislature could impose a ban.
One of the plaintiffs that sued Deerfield is the Illinois State Rifle Association. Executive Director Richard Pearson is glad the judge overturned the 2013 state legislature which set a deadline for municipalities like Deerfield to pass gun bans.
"The problem with places like Deerfield is they want to equate lawful gun ownership with illegal gun ownership.," Pearson said. "And the two are not the same."
The Deerfield village manager said in a statement that he's reviewing options, including a possible appeal.
"We continue to believe that these weapons have no place in our community and that our common-sense assault weapon regulations are legal and were properly enacted," the manager said. "In the meantime, however, we will abide by the court’s ruling and continue to not enforce our Ordinance."