Suit Filed Challenging Latest State Gun Law
Governor JB Pritzker signs legislation banning marketing of guns to individuals under 18 Saturday in Chicago. The law was challenged in federal court Monday.
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After Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation Saturday targeting marketing practices of gun manufacturers, the law was already challenged in court Monday.
The law prohibits “advertising and marketing that encourages paramilitary or unlawful private militia activity and advertising to individuals under 18.”
“Gun manufacturers shouldn’t get to hide from the law—and now, they won’t be able to,” Pritzker said in a statement after signing the bill this weekend. “Here’s to an Illinois where everyone feels safe in every corner of our great state.”
But Monday, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) filed suit in the U.S. District Court in southern Illinois claiming the law is unconstitutional.
“HB218 regulates selling, manufacturing, and advertising lawful (and constitutionally protected) firearms and related products,” the suit states. “In other words, HB218 regulates commerce in and speech relating to arms—even when that commerce and speech takes place entirely outside of Illinois, as will often be the case.”
Essentially, the organization is claiming the law violates the First Amendment in advertising a product and violates the Second Amendment because firearms are constitutionally protected. The group also argues the state law is contrary to existing federal law.
Meanwhile, federal suits challenging the state’s law banning the sale of assault weapons continue in federal court.