A federal judge in East St. Louis issued an order Friday blocking enforcement of Illinois' ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines until a lawsuit challenging the law is resolved.
Judge Stephen P. McGlynn, of the Southern District of Illinois, said the law known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act, or PICA, is likely to be found unconstitutional when the case goes to trial and the plaintiffs in the consolidated cases will suffer harms without a preliminary injunction to block its enforcement.In a 29-page opinion, McGlynn acknowledged that the law was passed in the wake of a mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park last year.
"More specifically, can PICA be harmonized with the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and with Bruen?" McGlynn asked rhetorically in the opinion. "That is the issue before this Court. The simple answer at this stage in the proceedings is 'likely no.
Based on other recent U.S. Supreme Court cases, McGlynn said the state needed to show that the items being banned are not in "common use" and that they are the types of firearms that have been regulated historically. He also noted that Friday's ruling was not a final resolution of the case, but he said the state has other means available to address the issue of gun violence.
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