A federal judge overturned Illinois‘s ban on semiautomatic weapons on Friday, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) has promised to appeal the ruling and attempt to restore the ban.
“Despite those who value weapons of war more than public safety, this law was enacted to and has protected Illinoisans from the constant fear of being gunned down in places where they ought to feel secure,” Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough said.
The National Rifle Association posted to its website, “Our legislative team tried to warn lawmakers about the unconstitutionality of Pritzker’s scheme.”
“Today’s ruling affirms our legislative position and shows our dedication to fighting on behalf of the millions of law-abiding Illinois firearms owners,” the association said.
Pritzker pointed to stopping school shootings and other mass shootings from becoming the norm in Illinois when he signed the law.
“For the past four years, my administration and my colleagues in the State Capitol have been battling the powerful forces of the NRA to enshrine the strongest and most effective gun violence legislation that we possibly can,” Pritzker said. “I couldn’t be prouder to say that we got it done. And we will keep fighting — bill by bill, vote by vote, and protest by protest — to ensure that future generations only hear about massacres like Highland Park, Sandy Hook, and Uvalde in their textbooks.”
The ban was signed in January 2023, largely as a response to a 2022 mass shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. That Independence Day, seven people died and 48 people were injured from bullets and shrapnel. The ban outlaws assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
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Pritzker clarified what the bill includes on his website, writing, “House Bill 5471 also caps sales of high-capacity ammunition magazines, bans ‘switches’ that convert legal handguns into assault weapons, and extends the ability of courts to prevent dangerous individuals from possessing a gun through firearm restraining orders.”
The explanation continued, “The new law also requires existing owners of semi-automatic rifles to register their ownership, ensuring that law enforcement knows the location of these weapons of war and who to hold accountable if they fall into the wrong hands.”