Assault Weapons Ban, Registration Still in Effect as SCOTUS Denies Stay
The Supreme Court declined to step in and stop Illinois’ assault weapons ban and the required registration of existing assault weapons before the January 1 deadline. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
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The United States Supreme Court will not put a hold on the state’s assault weapon ban, denying a request from gun rights advocates to issue a stay just weeks before a January 1 deadline to register existing assault weapons with the state.
But the case could still be well on its way to the high court in Washington.
The Supreme Court declined to act on a motion by the National Association for Gun Rights and a Naperville gun shop.
“The Act is unconstitutional, because it bans certain handguns and because the so-called “assault weapons” and “large capacity magazines” that it bans are possessed by millions of law-abiding Americans who overwhelmingly use them for lawful purposes, including self-defense in the home,” plaintiffs wrote in their filing with the court. “The Act bans weapons in common use for lawful purposes and is manifestly unconstitutional under [previous gun cases.]”
The two-line order from Justice Amy Coney Barrett Tuesday denied their request.
The full challenge to the law continues in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Another case also continues in the Southern District of Illinois federal court.
Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur), who had a separate suit challenging the law, had a similar request denied by the Court this week.
In a statement Thursday, Governor JB Pritzker continued to defend the constitutionality of the law.
“All Americans deserve the right to worship, go to school, and celebrate without living in fear,” Pritzker said in a statement. “I’m thankful once again for the members of the General Assembly who supported this law and the brave survivors who fought to make it a reality.”
Pritzker, potentially signaling the difficult road for the law before the full Supreme Court, called on Congress to pass a national assault weapons ban.
