Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

Court Issues Order Blocking Illinois’ Ban on Commonly Owned Firearms and Magazines from Taking Effect in NRA-Backed Case.

Friday, April 28, 2023

Court Issues Order Blocking Illinois’ Ban on Commonly Owned Firearms and Magazines from Taking Effect in NRA-Backed Case.

In January, the Illinois Legislature passed the Protect Illinois Communities Act (“PICA”), which banned more than 190 commonly owned arms by mislabeling them “assault weapons” and banned commonly owned magazines by mislabeling them “large capacity.” An ILA-backed lawsuit was promptly filed, challenging PICA under the Second Amendment. Today, a federal court issued an order blocking PICA from taking effect, holding that it likely violated the Second Amendment.

“[T]here is no evidence as to how PICA will actually help Illinois Communities,” the court wrote. “It is also not lost on this Court that the Illinois Sheriff’s Association and some Illinois States Attorneys believe PICA unconstitutional and cannot, in good conscience, enforce the law as written and honor their sworn oath to uphold the Constitution.” The court continued, “it does not appear that the legislature considered an individual’s right under the Second Amendment nor Supreme Court precedent. Moreover, PICA did not just regulate the rights of the people to defend themselves; it restricted that right, and in some cases, completely obliterated that right by criminalizing the purchase and the sale of more than 190 ‘arms.’”

The court was even more critical of the arguments that the state put forward in defense of PICA. The state argued that PICA was constitutional because the arms and magazines that it banned did not exist in 1791 when the Constitution was ratified. The court called that argument “bordering on the frivolous.” The state also attempted to argue that magazines were not “arms.” The court squarely rejected that argument, declaring that it was “not even a close call” because the state’s “own expert incorporates magazine capacity into his definition of a firearm.” And the court found that when it comes to the banned features that make the firearm a so-called assault weapon “the defensive application is obvious, as is the public safety advantage in preventing stray shots.”

The court ultimately stayed the law from taking effect during the pendency of the litigation.

The case is captioned Barnett v. Raoul. It was filed in the Southern District of Illinois on behalf of individual plaintiffs and the National Shooting Sports Foundation and financially supported by the NRA.

Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on NRA-ILA’s ongoing efforts to defend your constitutional rights.

 

TRENDING NOW
Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

News  

Monday, July 29, 2024

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

Since President Joe Biden unceremoniously dropped out, or was forced out, of the 2024 presidential race on July 21, Vice President Kamala Harris has been effectively coronated as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Florida: Vote "YES" on Amendment 2 - Protect the Right to Fish & Hunt

Monday, October 21, 2024

Florida: Vote "YES" on Amendment 2 - Protect the Right to Fish & Hunt

The upcoming 2024 General Election puts forth a proposal to Florida voters on the ballot to amend the State Constitution to affirm and protect Floridians' Right to Fish and Hunt. Amendment 2 states:

Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

News  

Monday, September 16, 2024

Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

During the September 10 presidential debate, President Donald Trump correctly highlighted Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s support for gun confiscation. A visibly defensive Harris claimed, “We're not taking anybody's guns away. So stop with the ...

Kamala’s Big Problem: She’s Already Shown Us Who She Is

News  

Monday, October 28, 2024

Kamala’s Big Problem: She’s Already Shown Us Who She Is

At a town hall event on October 21 in Royal Oak, Michigan, Democrat presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris was asked how she would make “impactful and immediate progress around gun violence” if she was ...

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

News  

Monday, July 29, 2024

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

Since President Joe Biden unceremoniously dropped out, or was forced out, of the 2024 presidential race on July 21, Vice President Kamala Harris has been effectively coronated as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Kamala Harris’ Record on Gun Control and Second Amendment

News  

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Kamala Harris’ Record on Gun Control and Second Amendment

Vice President Kamala Harris has consistently campaigned for draconian gun control laws, which severely limit the rights of lawful gun owners.

Tim Walz Hunts for Voters in Outdoor Photo Op

News  

Monday, October 21, 2024

Tim Walz Hunts for Voters in Outdoor Photo Op

History shows, when anti-gun politicians take to the field, gun owners have good reason to be concerned.

NRA’s Political Victory Fund Endorses President Donald J. Trump

News  

Saturday, May 18, 2024

NRA’s Political Victory Fund Endorses President Donald J. Trump

Today, the National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is honored to announce its full endorsement of President Donald J. Trump for re-election to a second term as President of the United States of America. ...

Michigan: Governor Whitmer Signs Bill Funding Tipline to Turn in Gun Owners

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Michigan: Governor Whitmer Signs Bill Funding Tipline to Turn in Gun Owners

Today, Governor Whitmer signed House Bill 5503. Originally a bill providing critical funding for Michigan schools, it was politicized with an amendment to create an anonymous tipline for the purpose of reporting the "unsafe" storage of firearms. The ...

Kamala Harris Claims to Own a Glock, But Supported Handgun Bans for YOU!

News  

Monday, October 14, 2024

Kamala Harris Claims to Own a Glock, But Supported Handgun Bans for YOU!

In a lame attempt to run away from her radical anti-gun and anti-Second Amendment record, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has spent the last several weeks claiming that she is a gun owner.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.