Illinois Judge Blocks “Assault Weapons” Ban
An Illinois judge has blocked the recent “assault weapons” ban passed in the state legislature, and signed into law by Governor Pritzker.
The Court finds the Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success in relation to the equal protection clause of the Illinois Constitution and that the Defendant’s use of criteria, especially those that is not evenly applied violates the face of the Supreme Court’s findings in New York State Rifle Association, Inc v. Bruen [SIC],” Judge Morrison wrote in his decision.
He ruled the law represents an ongoing danger to the Illinois residents who filed the case.
“Plaintiffs are being immediately and irreparably harmed each day in which their fundamental right to bear arms is being denied and that this harm is continuing in nature,” he wrote.
Judge Morrison was stern in his rebuke of this law, stating that the legislature failed to justify many of the claims used to support the law.
“Due to the lack of compliance of the Defendants, the Court is left with nothing to conclude what might be the compelling public purpose of this legislation,” he wrote. “In oral arguments, the Defendants suggested that the goal of the legislation was to reduce firearms deaths and mass shooting casualties; however, they offered no evidence that the individuals in their newly created class on training and experience were any more or less likely to commit these crimes, nor did they provide evidence that the individuals excluded from this class were more likely to commit crimes.”
The important thing to note here is that the Illinois legislature, like anti-gun legislatures in other states, such as Colorado, know that these laws do not increase public safety. They also know that these laws are unconstitutional. They simply don’t care. They will draft and pass them anyway, because their aim is to end the civilian ownership of firearms in any way they can. This is where we are now in the battle to preserve the fundamental human right of self-protection. Expect this same scenario to play out over and over again in many states in the country.
