Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Remains In Effect Pending Appeal, Judges Rule

CHICAGO — Illinois' ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines remains enforceable after a federal appeals court last week stayed the ruling from a downstate judge who declared it unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an order Thursday extending a stay on the order issued last month by U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn that found the Protect Illinois Communities Act violates the Second Amendment.

Passed by legislators nearly two years ago in response to the Highland Park parade shooting, the act bans certain semiautomatic pistols, shotguns and rifles, including the rifle allegedly used to shoot dozens of paradegoers, seven fatally, from a rooftop. It also restricts the possession of magazines that hold more than 10 bullets for long guns or more than 15 for handguns.

But McGlynn, who last year issued a preliminary injunction against the law, this year held a trial and issued a 168-page ruling declaring that the statewide gun ban violates the rights of law-abiding citizens to bear firearms "commonly used" for self-defense, such as AR-15-style rifles banned by the law.

"What is particularly disturbing is that ... weapons that are commonly owned and used by citizens are now banned," McGlynn said, "depriving citizens of a principal means to defend themselves and their property in situations where a handgun or shotgun alone would not be the citizen's preferred arm."

The judge, a first-term appointee of President-elect Donald Trump, stayed his ruling for 30 days, allowing Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to appeal it to the three-judge panel, which was composed of two Trump-appointed judges and one appointed 40 years ago by former President Ronald Reagan.

In its unanimous order, the judges said that there are still some matters that require "further exploration," but the the Seventh Circuit's previous opinion allowing the law to stand while a challenge from a Naperville gun shop owner plays out shows that the gun ban has "enough support" to stay in place.

"Every other court of appeals that has addressed the validity of similar legislation in the wake of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen has come out the same way," the panel wrote, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling that people have a constitutional right to carry guns in public for self-defense and subsequent decisions from appellate judges in the First, Fourth and D.C. Circuits.

"The laws addressed by those decisions differ in some respects from the Illinois statute. Yet the absence of support in other circuits for the district court’s disposition lends strength to a conclusion that the Illinois statutes should remain in force until final appellate resolution," the judges continued.

The judges' ruling also pointed out that McGlynn had failed to comply with the rules of federal civil procedure, though they expected him to "enter appropriate orders promptly without the need for a formal command by this court."

The appellate panel also noted there are at least two other identical lawsuits pending in the Seventh Circuit, and so a continued stay is necessary to prevent conflicting rulings and maintain the statewide status quo while appeals continue.

“I am pleased the 7th Circuit has stayed the district court’s injunction. My office will continue to prosecute the appeal, and the Protect Illinois Communities Act remains the law of the land as the litigation is pending in the lower courts," Raoul said in a statement after the ruling.

"The Protect Illinois Communities Act is an important tool to prevent weapons of war from being used in our schools and on our streets, and I am committed to defending its constitutionality," he said.

The Illinois State Rifle Association issued a statement in response to the order.

"While we are glad that Federal District Court Judge Stephen McGlynn’s stay would have expired on Sunday, December 8th, we are disappointed — but not surprised — that the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has extended that stay," it said.

"When this unconstitutional bill was signed by Gov. Pritzker in January 2023, we promised to see the State of Illinois in Court — and we’ve held firm on that promise — and we won’t back down until our 2nd Amendment rights are restored in Illinois."

Earlier: Federal Judge Rules Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Violates 2nd Amendment, Appeal Expected