SPRINGFIELD (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled the state’s assault weapons ban to be constitutional.
In a 4-3 majority decision, Illinois’ highest court decided that the state can block the sale of select semi-automatic guns and large-capacity magazines. It overrules an Illinois Circuit Court’s ruling.
“First, we hold the circuit court erroneously entered summary judgment for
plaintiffs on their equal protection and special legislation claims. Plaintiffs are not similarly situated to the trained professionals. To the extent plaintiffs claim they possess restricted items, they are not treated differently from the grandfathered Individuals,” Justice Elizabeth Rochford wrote in her opinion.
The court also decreed that state Rep. Dan Caulkins, a Decatur Republican, and like-minded gun-owners who brought the lawsuit had earlier waived their claims that the law infringes on the Second Amendment to own firearms and could not raise it before the Supreme Court.
The Second Amendment claim is alive, however, in several federal lawsuits filed in southern Illinois, later consolidated and awaiting appeals court action.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who signed the legislation in January following the Fourth of July massacre shooting in Highland Park, voiced his approval of the court’s ruling.
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“I am pleased that the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act. This is a common sense gun reform law to keep mass-killing machines off of our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks, and places of worship,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in every corner of our state—whether they are attending a Fourth of July Parade or heading to work—and that’s precisely what the Protect Illinois Communities Act accomplishes. This decision is a win for advocates, survivors, and families alike because it preserves this nation-leading legislation to combat gun violence and save countless lives.”
Bolstered by the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case that determined Americans have a right to carry weapons in public for self-defense, Caulkins and other gun owners say the semi-automatic ban clearly violates the right to possess guns.
The lawsuit alleges the law was unequally applied because anyone who had a semi-automatic weapon on the date the law took effect could keep it, although they're restricted in selling or transferring such weapons. They must register their guns with the Illinois State Police by Jan. 1, 2024.
Several other lawsuits against the ban filed in federal court were consolidated and are awaiting action in an appeals court.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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