A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 on Friday that Illinois’ ban on “assault weapons”/semi-automatic weapons is constitutional, meaning the case is likely now headed to the Court Supreme of the United States.
“The Second Amendment to the Constitution recognizes the individual right to ‘keep and bear arms.’ There can be no doubt about that,” he said majority opinion of a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said.
“But as we know from long experience with other fundamental rights, such as the right to freedom of expression, the right to peaceably assemble, the right to vote and the right to the free exercise of religion, even the liberties The most important personal things have their limits,” he continues.
The ruling prompted celebration from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and others:
https://t.co/IyRw5XB5Tz pic.twitter.com/YdpL69dELz
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) November 3, 2023
Regarding “assault weapons,” in particular, the ruling states that there is a distinction between weapons for civilian use and weapons for law enforcement.
“There is a long tradition, unchanged since the Second Amendment was added to the Constitution, that supports a distinction between weapons and accessories designed for military or police use and weapons designed for personal use. The legislation that We now respect and rely on this distinction,” says the ruling.
According to the Chicago news station WLSthe ruling refers to “three consolidated cases that challenged the state’s assault weapons ban as well as local ordinances enacted in Cook County, Chicago and Naperville.”
“Both the state law and the Naperville ordinance were passed in response to aa mass shooting last year at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park that left seven people dead and dozens more injured and traumatized,” the station notes.
The law specifically prohibits the possession, manufacture or sale of semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, but will not take effect on January 1, 2024.
“Known as the Illinois Protective Communities Act, it bans dozens of specific brands or types of rifles and pistols, 50-caliber handguns, accessories and rapid-fire devices. No rifle will be allowed to hold more than 10 rounds, with a 15-round limit for handguns,” according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, gun advocacy groups have been hard at work trying to defeat it in court. However, their efforts have so far failed. In August, for example, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the law in a 4-3 decision.
I applaud the decision to maintain the Illinois Community Protection Act. This is how we keep our neighborhoods safe and move them forward. pic.twitter.com/4IpfjCGQaj
— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) November 3, 2023
Friday’s ruling was somewhat of a surprise given the conservative makeup of the Seventh Circuit’s three-judge panel.
“Notably, the majority consisted of conservative Justice Frank Easterbook and liberal Justice Diane P. Wood. Conservative Justice Michael P. Brennan dissented,” according to the legal scholar Jonathan Turley.
In his dissent, Brennan wrote that the state and local governments that had enacted the bans “failed to meet their burden to show that their bans are part of the history and tradition of gun regulation in fire”.
According to WLS, he also “overruled his colleagues’ ‘remarkable’ conclusion that personal ownership of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines is not protected by the Second Amendment.”
“The AR-15 is a civilian weapon, not a military one. No military in the world uses a service rifle that is only semi-automatic. Yet the majority opinion uses the military counterpart of a civilian firearm to determine if it’s an ‘arm,’” he wrote.
Anti-gun rights groups were excited by the majority opinion.
VICTORIA: We won our case!
The Seventh Circuit rejected challenges to
❌ Illinois Assault Weapons and High Capacity Magazine Bans
❌ Assault weapons ban in Naperville
❌ Assault weapons and high-capacity magazine bans in Chicago and Cook CountyWe are here to protect our communities! pic.twitter.com/RgtHjqbmMH
— Chris Brown | President, bradyunited.org (@KrisB_Brown) November 3, 2023
“This is an important victory in the fight against gun violence and a victory for all states and municipalities struggling to keep their residents safe,” Douglas Letter, chief legal officer of the Brady United group, said in a statement.
“States and cities should have the right to prevent these weapons of war from crippling our communities, and this ruling shows that the ban on assault weapons is indeed constitutional,” he added.
Turley, the legal scholar, believes for his part that the case is now headed to the Supreme Court.
“The case could set an important test for gun rights at the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said he tweeted Saturday.
Responding to the tweet, many predicted that the conservative-led US Supreme Court would eventually rule in favor of gun rights groups, not their enemies.
The Supreme Court will strike down this ruling.
— KaySel (@KaySelUSA) November 5, 2023
The Supreme Court will not support any ban.
— Kathy Cochran (@Kathyisroyal) November 5, 2023
The Supreme Court will rule against them and once and for all the issue will be over! They are not assault rifles as they are not fully automatic! A very good weapon!
— Brian Blake (@Bblake1963Blake) November 4, 2023
Thank God President Trump was able to get his Supreme Court nominees. Looks like a likely split 5-4 decision to reaffirm 2A citizens’ rights.
— Mcvey Ross Andrew (@McveyRossA) November 5, 2023
What, AR-15s aren’t guns? Are people not able to physically bear them easily? So what’s the problem. These judges are not constitutional originalists, they are activists. The Supreme Court will undoubtedly overturn this nonsense.
— First Words (@unscriptedmike) November 4, 2023
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