Federal judge says Illinois assault rifle ban is unconstitutional

A federal judge in Illinois ruled that the state's assault rifle ban is unconstitutional, arguing that the decision violates the Second Amendment.

In U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn's opinion, he issued a permanent injunction prohibiting enforcement of the ban, though he stated the injunction won't take effect for 30 days, meaning it's paused to give time for an appeal.

The decision comes as a federal appeals court in the state last month upheld the assault weapon ban — which was passed last year following a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in the suburbs of Chicago — arguing that the ban constitutes a reasonable limit on the Second Amendment.

"Government may punish a deliberately false fire alarm; it may condition free assembly on the issuance of a permit; it may require voters to present a valid identification card; and it may punish child abuse even if it is done in the name of religion," Judge Diane Wood wrote in that decision. "The right enshrined in the Second Amendment is no different."

In McGlynn's ruling, he wrote, "So much about firearms is contentious, from the political debate to the jurisprudential debate."

"At the crossroads of this debate stands the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution," he added.

The law in question — dubbed the Protect Illinois Communities Act — bans the sale and distribution of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and switches in the state. Under the act, individuals who had those items in possession were required to submit an endorsement affidavit through their firearm identification card.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), who signed the bill in January, called the measure a "commonsense law."

McGlynn wrote in the ruling that the ban "criminalizes knowing possession of hundreds of previously lawful rifles, handguns, and shotguns."

"There is no happy consensus on guns, particularly those defined as 'assault weapons.' With malice toward none on either side of these debates, and with no desire to impose policy judgments by judicial fiat, this Court seeks to understand what exactly it means for a firearm to be 'dangerous,' 'unusual,' 'bearable,' 'in common use,' in 'dual use,' and/or a 'military weapon,'" he wrote.

The Hill has contacted Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's press office and the Southern District of Illinois Court for comment.