Other State State of Illinois Responds to National Association For Gun Rights', Will Probably go to The SCOTUS

[Crabb90]

The State of Illinois responded to an appeal filed by the National Association of Gun Rights (NAGR) with a typical politicians' speak non-answer.

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The law that the NAGR is appealing is HB5855, or the Protect Illinois Communities Act, in Illinois' 102nd General Assembly which reads thus:

Amends the Illinois State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois; provides that the Division of Criminal Investigation of the Illinois State Police shall conduct other investigations as provided bylaw including but not limited to investigations of human trafficking, illegal drug trafficking, and illegal firearms trafficking; provides that the Division of Criminal Investigation shall provide statewide coordination and strategy pertaining to firearm-related intelligence, firearms trafficking interdiction, and investigations. Amends the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act; eliminates provisions that permit a person under 21 years of age who is not an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces or the Illinois National Guard to obtain a Firearm Owner's Identification Card with parental consent; amends the Wildlife Code; provides that when a person under 21 years of age is hunting under the supervision of an adult, the adult must possess a Firearm Owners Identification Card; amends the Firearms Restraining Order Act; provides that the State's Attorney of the county where the petition is filed may act as a friend of the court in any action filed under the Act; provides that a petitioner may request a one-year (rather than 6-month) firearms restraining order; amends the Criminal Code of 2012; makes it unlawful to manufacture, deliver, sell, or purchase or cause to be manufactured, delivered, sold, or purchased or cause to be possessed by another an assault weapon, assault weapon attachment, .50 caliber rifle, or .50caliber cartridge; makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly possess an assault weapon, .50 caliber rifle, or .50 caliber cartridge 300 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act, except possession of weapons registered with the Illinois State Police in the time provided; provides exemptions and penalties; prohibits the manufacture, delivery, sale, purchase, or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices; defines terms; provides exemptions and penalties; and makes other changes. Effective immediately.

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has left the law alone while it makes its way through the federal appellate court system.

"Washington — The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to block an Illinois law banning assault-style weapons, leaving the measure in place while proceedings before a federal appellate court continue.
The decision from the justices, with no noted dissents, marks the second time they have declined to halt Illinois' statewide ban, which a gun rights advocacy group and gun shop owner argued violates the Second Amendment. It has also left in place a similar ordinance in Naperville, a suburb of Chicago (CBS)."

Many Illinois residents are refusing the mandate to license their "assault weapons."

"It's now illegal to sell or manufacture assault weapons in Illinois after a ban went into effect Jan. 1. But the vast majority of permit-holding Illinois gun owners aren't complying with the new law (NPR)."

The US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is upholding Illinois' ban.

"The 7th Circuit found in November that the assault weapons ban constitutes a reasonable limit on the Second Amendment, which the NAGR challenges (The Hill)."

The State of Illinois along with some federal judges argue that the weapons targeted by the law are "particularly dangerous." The challengers to the law argue that it is "manifestly unconstitutional" and targets law-abiding citizens.

"Enacted in the wake of the 7/4/2022 shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, that killed seven people and wounded 48, the ban applies to firearms that the law defines as "assault weapons"; it also applies to large-capacity magazines and some kinds of ammunition, although people who already own the items that would otherwise be prohibited can keep them by registering them with the police (SCOTUS Blog)."

Advocates for the law have used World War 2 references in legal defenses which is a red herring. The lethality of particular weapons and any potential danger to the public does not discount US constitutional rights. Writings from America's founding generation clearly state the founders' intentions to prioritize individual liberty over collective safety. Not to mention that gun laws do not stop criminals from obtaining firearms.

I think the appeals will probably make it up to the SCOTUS.

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