A judge has prohibited Dem Governor Pritzker from enforcing the new ban on high-capacity magazines and semiautomatic rifles. On Monday, the decision is being appealed by Attorney General Raoul of Illinois to the 5th District Appellate Court in Mt. Vernon in an attempt to overturn the temporary block.
The Protect Illinois Communities Act would ban .50-caliber guns, specific handguns and rifles, certain accessories and attachments, and would limit cartridges to 15 rounds for pistols and 10 rounds for long guns. On Jan. 10, the gun control law was first signed following the shooting in the Highland Park July Fourth Parade. The shooting led to 7 deaths and 30 injured individuals.
The new law would not force those who already owned some of the newly restricted weaponry to surrender them, instead, they would just need to register their weapons and serial numbers with the Illinois State Police.
The law is being challenged by four gun merchants and 850 individuals who have claimed that the law violates their rights to equal protection under the law. Gun rights groups have called the law “tyrannical” as it violates the Second Amendment.
Effingham County Judge Joshua Morrison sided with plaintiffs saying that the law was harming their “fundamental right to bear arms.” Morrison further noted that as per the U.S. Supreme Court decision from last year, which blocked the New York state’s concealed carry law, the Second Amendment protected the rights of individuals to carry guns for self-defense.
