Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed the Protect Our Communities Act into effect on Jan. 10, and a flurry of legal actions immediately followed. Opponents filed multiple suits, charging that the statute was yet another in a long line of state laws illegally targeting citizens’ right to keep and bear arms.
Illinois sheriffs lined up almost entirely against the law, and most signed a statement declaring that it would largely go unenforced.
Temporary good news came on April 28 when U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn issued a preliminary injunction halting the ban. He declared Illinois had many laws already in force and those laws should be properly upheld by prosecutors and law enforcement.
But on May 4, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit placed a hold on the preliminary injunction, allowing the law to remain intact. The appeals court is now reviewing the legal action.
Another case against the law was brought by state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R) arguing that the ban on semiautomatic weapons violated the Constitution. That was the litigation that reached the Illinois Supreme Court and led to Friday’s ruling.
A lower court in Macon County initially heard the case and ruled against the statewide ban. The high court now reversed that decision.
The law specifically banned dozens of specific models of semiautomatic rifles and handguns along with .50-caliber guns, attachments and devices designed to enable rapid fire. Rifles in Illinois are now limited to 10 rounds or less, and handguns have a 15-round limit.
The primary target for the legislation was the overwhelmingly popular AR-15. Some 25 million U.S. households own at least one of these rifles, according to a study by Georgetown University.
Illinois residents who already possess these semiautomatic weapons may keep them — but there’s a catch. All must be registered with state authorities no later than Jan. 1, 2024.
The state law carved out exceptions for seven categories of “trained professionals.” These included police and active-duty military, corrections officers and certain security guards.
The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) predicted the outcome in a social media post before the decision was handed down.
Noting a “coincidence” with the Friday decision, the ISRA said it was “conveniently being released on the same day as the vice president’s visit to gun control advocates in Chicago. The same advocates who just happened to be in Springfield when this legislation was passed & signed on the same day.”
The organization expressed its belief that the issue will ultimately be decided on the federal level.
Writing for the majority, Judge Elizabeth Rochford revealed the ruling centered on trained professionals. The majority determined that average Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card holders are not in the same class and therefore are unprepared to handle firearms the state classified as “assault weapons.”
Rochford rebutted arguments that owners of these guns are both FOID card holders and law-abiding citizens.
“A FOID card holder does not have a duty to maintain public order, to make arrests; or to prevent, detect, investigate, prosecute or incarcerate a person for a violation of law.”
In other words, the position of the majority was that only law enforcement personnel may possess these popular firearms.
The court further found that Rep. Caulkins, a Decatur pawn broker and other gun owners involved in the lawsuit waived their claims that the law violated the Second Amendment. Calkin’s lawyer, Jerrold Stocks, vehemently denied this statement.
He added after the high court decision that the result would likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Several federal lawsuits are still being pursued in southern Illinois. They were consolidated into one and are now before an appeals court.
