By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A federal court judge in Illinois has handed gun rights organizations a victory in their challenge of the Prairie State’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines” which are part of the “Protect Illinois Communities Act” (PICA), adopted in response to a shooting rampage.
The case is known as Harrel v. Raoul. Joining SAF in this case are the Illinois State Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition. Marengo Guns, the C4 Gun Store and Dane Harrel, for whom the case is known. They are represented by attorney David Sigale of Wheaton, Ill. The case is in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Judge Stephen P. McGlynn presiding.
It is one of four separate cases challenging the law, all consolidated by the court for this phase of the fight. The other cases include one filed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
There is no small irony in the Friday victory. It came only three days after Washington’s Democrat Governor Jay Inslee almost gleefully signed a law banning semiautomatic rifles in the Evergreen State. SAF and NSSF promptly filed separate federal challenges—one in Seattle and the other in Spokane—in an effort to block the new law.
“There is no question that Plaintiffs are harmed by PICA,” Judge McGlynn wrote in his 29-page ruling, “and will continue to be harmed if this Court denies the motion for preliminary injunction. A constitutional right is at stake. Some Plaintiffs cannot purchase their firearm of choice, nor can they exercise their right to self-defense in the manner they choose. They are bound by the State’s limitations.”
Later in his decision, Judge McGlynn added, “In no way does this Court minimize the damage caused when a firearm is used for an unlawful purpose; however, this Court must be mindful of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. While PICA was purportedly enacted in response to the Highland Park shooting, it does not appear that the legislature considered an individual’s right under the Second Amendment nor Supreme Court precedent.”
“While this may only be the end of ‘Round One’,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “it’s certainly a good start in putting an end to a law we are convinced is entirely unconstitutional.”
Gottlieb told TGM that this case is one of eight SAF challenges of state gun bans across the country. He called Friday’s win a “great omen.”
“There is some remarkably strong language in Judge McGlynn’s ruling supporting the right to keep and bear arms,” SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut observed. “The Illinois statute is harmful to all plaintiffs in this case, and we are delighted the judge handed down this ruling in such a prompt manner. We can now move forward.”
