The Illinois State Supreme Court has delivered a verdict affirming the constitutionality of a strict assault weapons ban that was enacted following the tragic Highland Park shooting.
The ruling, issued on Friday, emerged as a response to a lawsuit contending that the ban infringed upon the equal protections clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In a 4-3 decision, the court overruled a lower court’s verdict, asserting that the law does not contravene the equal protections clause. However, the court did not address claims suggesting that the ban also violated the Second Amendment.
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Justice Elizabeth Rochford, authoring the majority opinion, stated, “First, we hold that the exemptions neither deny equal protection nor constitute special legislation because plaintiffs have not sufficiently alleged that they are similarly situated to and treated differently from the exempt classes.
Second, plaintiffs expressly waived in the circuit court any independent claim that the restrictions impermissibly infringe the second amendment. Third, plaintiffs’ failure to cross-appeal is a jurisdictional bar to renewing their three-readings claim.”
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Justice Rochford concluded, “Accordingly, we reverse the circuit court and enter judgment for defendants on the equal protection and special legislation claims.”
At the heart of the legal dispute is a law that prohibits assault weapons, assault weapon attachments, .50-caliber rifles, and .50-caliber cartridges — the types of semi-automatic firearms frequently used in mass shootings across the country.
This legislation bars the purchase, sale, manufacture, delivery, and import of such firearms. While the law provides exemptions for law enforcement, military personnel, corrections officers, and trained private security personnel, it does not extend these exceptions to the general public.
Known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act, this legislation was swiftly signed into law by Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker last year, mere hours after it was passed during a legislative session.
Why Illinois State Supreme Court Upholds Weapons Ban
The move followed a horrifying incident in which a gunman opened fire during a July 4 parade in a Chicago suburb, leaving seven individuals dead and more than 30 others wounded.
Governor Pritzker welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, expressing his satisfaction with the outcome. “This is a commonsense gun reform law to keep mass killing machines off of our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks, and places of worship,” he affirmed.
“Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in every corner of our state—whether they are attending a Fourth of July Parade or heading to work—and that’s precisely what the Protect Illinois Communities Act accomplishes.”
The law, which became effective in January, positioned Illinois as the ninth state to enforce an assault weapons prohibition. During that time, the White House issued a statement commending state lawmakers for their passage of the legislation. Governor Pritzker, who secured a second term by defeating Republican contender State Senator Darren Bailey in the midterm elections, had campaigned on a platform promising stricter gun laws.
A lower court had previously declared the law “facially” unconstitutional due to exemptions that denied equal protections to the “law-abiding public.”
