Illinois Gun Law Blocked by Federal Judge

In Illinois, a federal court has temporarily injuncted a statute that prohibits some semiautomatic guns and high-capacity magazines.

United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois judge Stephen Patrick McGlynn issued the ruling Friday afternoon, stating that the court “must be mindful of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”

Democrat Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois signed the prohibition into law in January, and it includes penalties for anybody who, “Carries or possesses… Manufactures, sells, delivers, imports, or purchases any assault weapon or .50 caliber rifle.”

The Illinois State Police require registration of all firearms in the possession of law-abiding citizens.

Criminal sanctions are included in the statute for anybody who “sells, manufactures, delivers, imports, possesses, or purchases any assault weapon attachment or .50 caliber cartridge.”

The act also puts a limit on the acquisition of specific magazines and outlaws any equipment or gadgets that increase the shooting rate of a semiautomatic weapon.

In a statement, plaintiff Gun Owners of America stated that Pritzker should take the verdict as a warning.

“Governor Pritzker and his anti-gun cabal in the legislature thought they could steam roll the Second Amendment, and this ruling makes clear that they abused their authority and infringed on their citizens’ rights. We look forward to continuing this fight,” GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt said.

McGlynn wrote in his ruling that he isn’t attempting to “minimize the damage caused when a firearm is used for an unlawful purpose,” but said the law in question limited the Second Amendment right of people in Illinois.

“[Protect Illinois Communities Act] did not just regulate the rights of the people to defend themselves; it restricted that right, and in some cases, completely obliterated that right by criminalizing the purchase and the sale of more than 190 ‘arms,'” McGlynn wrote.

Judge McGlynn, who was chosen by President Trump, issued his decision immediately after Judge Lindsay Jenkins, who was appointed by President Biden and serves on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, ruled against preventing the law’s execution.

Jenkins wrote in her ruling that “The challenged restrictions on semiautomatic weapons and large-capacity magazines … are consistent with ‘the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,’ namely the history and tradition of regulating particularly ‘dangerous’ weapons.”