A federal appeals court upheld a controversial Illinois gun control law that largely bans assault weapons.The U.S.Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit decision issued on Thursday slapped down a district court decision that declared the ban unconstitutional."Among other things, the Act criminalizes the manufacture, sale, delivery, purchase, and possession of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines.
A grandfather clause permits preexisting lawful owners of the regulated items to continue possessing them," the Thursday decision noted.US JUDGE TOSSES ILLINOIS' BAN ON SEMIAUTOMATIC WEAPONS, GOVERNOR PLEDGES SWIFT APPEALSmith & Wesson M&P-15 semi-automatic rifles of the AR-15 style are displayed during the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting at the George R.Brown Convention Center, in Houston, Texas, on May 28, 2022.
(PATRICK T.FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)"For reasons that follow, we focus on the Act’s application to AR-15s and thirty-round rifle magazines.
The Act’s restrictions on these items, we hold, are consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation.Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse," the decision declared.Chief Judge Michael Brennan dissented from the panel's decision."Our Nation’s enduring traditions forbid governments from prohibiting firearms commonly owned for self-defense.
Because the people have overwhelmingly chosen the AR-15 rifle and its magazine as their weapon of choice, they are protected by the Second Amendment," Brennan wrote."Illinois’s ban goes too far and should be enjoined as unconstitutional.I respectfully dissent," he noted.Illinois Gov.
JB Pritzker, a Democrat who signed the controversial law in early 2023, hailed the court's decision.DOJ TARGETS SPANBERGER, NEWSOM GUN LAWS WITH TWIN LAWSUITS AFTER SCOTUS AFFIRMS SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTSIllinois Gov.JB Pritzker holds a news conference in Chicago, Wednes...