Judge blocks Illinois law banning many semiautomatic weapons

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday struck down an Illinois law banning many semi-automatic firearms, saying it ran afoul of the U.S. Constitution's right to bear arms.

U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn of the Southern District of Illinois ruled following a non-jury trial that the law was not "consistent with the nation's history and tradition of firearm regulations," a standard for gun laws established by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022.

The order, set to take effect in 30 days, comes in response to a lawsuit brought by gun owners and gun rights groups led by Firearms Policy Coalition.

"We are gratified that the Court properly found that these bans violate the constitutionally protected rights of Illinois residents and visitors," Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in an email that the law is an "important part of the state's comprehensive efforts to make communities safe from gun violence," and that the state would appeal McGlynn's ruling.

The Illinois law bans the sale and distribution of many kinds of high-powered semiautomatic "assault weapons," including AK-47 and AR-15 rifles, as well as large-capacity magazines. It was passed in 2023 after a massacre at a 2022 Independence Day parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park that killed seven people.

McGlynn temporarily blocked the law in January 2023 while he heard the case, but that order was reversed on appeal, allowing the ban to take effect. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the plaintiffs' bid to revive the temporary order earlier this year.

In Friday's ruling, McGlynn said the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protected citizens' right to bear arms to defend themselves against aggressors.

"To limit civilians' choice of arms would tip the scale in favor of the aggressors, who already will likely have various tactical advantages, including the element of surprise," he wrote.

The case is one of numerous legal battles over how far states and federal regulators can go in regulating guns after the Supreme Court's 2022 decision expanding gun rights. The cases have had mixed results so far, with some restrictions upheld and others struck down.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

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