By Illinois Review
Early on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari – a formal request, to review Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s assault weapons ban, as pro gun groups including the Illinois State Rifle Association, the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation sought emergency relief from the highest court in the land – calling one of the strictest gun bans in the country “unconstitutional.”
On January 10, 2023, Gov. Pritzker signed legislation banning assault weapons making Illinois just the 9th state to enact one of the strongest firearm bans in the country. On January 18, 2023, the ISRA filed a federal lawsuit opposing Gov. Pritzker’s unconstitutional assault weapons ban. On December 11, 2023, the Seventh Circuit rejected a request for a hearing, and on Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court denied their request for emergency relief. However, the decision was not unexpected. In a statement released by ISRA executive director Richard Pearson, the pro gun group remained optimistic, writing,
“We are obviously very disappointed for the millions of legal gun owners in Illinois by today’s decision not to grant emergency relief, but we’re not giving up. And today’s decision does not impact the merits of our case for our upcoming hearing on September 16h in the Southern District of Illinois.”
The statement continued,
“Too much is at stake, and the ISRA remains on the front lines and continues to stand up to Gov. Pritzker and anti-gun legislators in Springfield on behalf of 2.4 million law-abiding, responsible firearms owners in Illinois. Our objective from the very beginning of the process that started the moment Gov. Pritzker signed the bill into law – was to take our case to the United States Supreme Court. And we followed through on that promise, and despite today’s decision – if given the chance, we’d do it all over again because it is the right thing to do.”
In the dissenting opinion issued on Tuesday, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, who sided with the ISRA, had some harsh words for Illinois’ lower court, writing, “The Seventh Circuit’s contrived “non-militaristic” limitation on the Arms protected by the Second Amendment seems unmoored from both text and history….. And, even on its own terms, the Seventh Circuit’s application of its definition is nonsensical.”
On September 16th, the ISRA, the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation will have a hearing before Southern District of Illinois Judge Stephen McGlynn, where they’ll be able to argue the merits of the case. Over 30 expert witnesses are expected to testify.
Currently, the ISRA is leading the charge as a named plaintiff on two cases and playing a supporting role in an additional five more cases in defense of law-abiding gun owners in Illinois.
