Illinois became the ninth state to ban so-called assault weapons, winning praise from President Joe Biden. It also set up inevitable legal challenges from gun rights advocates that could take years for the courts to resolve.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs comprehensive legislation to ban military-style firearms on Jan. 10, 2023, at the Illinois Capitol in Springfield. Gun control advocate Delphine Cherry, second from right, who lost two of her children to gun violence, became emotional during the signing.
“It’s clear that the courts are becoming more hostile to gun safety regulations,” said Adam Winkler, a UCLA School of Law professor and author of the book “Gun Fight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America.” “The law is going to be challenged, and there is a good chance it will be overturned.”
People who owned such guns before the ban took effect will have to register them, with a serial number, by Jan. 1, facing a misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses. The high court’s 6-3 ruling in New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen found that the “plain text” of the Second Amendment protected the right of the plaintiffs to carry firearms for self-defense.
That test has already led to some “mainstream, widely accepted” gun safety regulations being overturned in other states, Winkler said, including bans on people with pending domestic-violence restraining orders from having a firearm, provisions limiting guns at summer camps and churches, and even a law requiring guns to have serial numbers.
The term “assault weapon” alone is often nonspecific and controversial. Gun rights advocates say it is a manufactured term used by gun control groups to overdramatize certain guns as weapons of war, even though some firearms that bear the ominous designation are commonplace for recreational use. Those laws in many cases are similar, the law center said, but vary in terms of what firearms are defined as “assault weapons,” what exemptions apply to these guns owned before the ban went into effect, whether the laws require owners to register their assault weapons with law enforcement if they owned them before the ban, and other guidelines.
The nation’s highest court, though, has made landmark decisions throughout the years that have been a blow to gun control advocates. State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, a Republican from Barrington Hills, suggested the measure jeopardized someone’s right to defend themselves. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court allowed a new law New York enacted in response to the Bruen ruling to remain in effect while a challenge continues in a lower court. The law places numerous restrictions on where concealed carry license holders can bring their weapons.
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