A federal appeals court ruled on Dec. 5 to temporarily uphold the Protect Illinois Communities Act, pending a full hearing on a lower court’s ruling that declared the law unconstitutional. The act prohibits the manufacturing, sale, purchase and possession of all AK rifles and similar weapons in Illinois.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed the appeal on Nov. 8, just hours after Federal Judge Stephen McGlynn issued a ruling to overturn the Illinois assault weapons ban.
“I am pleased the 7th Circuit has stayed the district court’s injunction,” Raoul said in an online statement. “My office will continue to prosecute the appeal, and the Protect Illinois Communities Act remains the law of the land as the litigation is pending in the lower courts.”
Governor JB Pritzker signed PICA into law in January 2023, following the 2022 mass shooting at Highland Park’s Independence Day parade, where a gunman killed seven people and injured more than 30.
“The Protect Illinois Communities Act is an important tool to prevent weapons of war from being used in our schools and on our streets,” Raoul continued in the statement. “I am committed to defending its constitutionality.”
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Individuals who owned devices listed in the act before its enactment were required to submit an affidavit through their Firearm Owner’s Identification Card account by January 2024. Illinois residents may retain assault weapons, as defined by PICA, provided the firearms were owned before January 2023.
“Despite those who value weapons of war more than public safety, this law was enacted to and has protected Illinoisans from the constant fear of being gunned down in places where they ought to feel secure,” said Alex Gough, press secretary for Pritzker, to Illinois Public Media. “The governor is confident the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act will be upheld through appeal.”
Ibrahim Zeeshan, sophomore in LAS and member of the Illini Democrats, explained his reaction to the initial signing of PICA in 2023.
“I was very much pleased and somewhat relieved because, unfortunately, in the United States, you do have to worry, ‘Am I going to be shot? Is there going to be a mass shooting?’” Zeeshan said. “So the fact that we signed an assault weapons ban was very much a relief. It sort of took that burden off of my mind.”
Nine mass shootings were perpetrated from Dec. 1 to Dec. 9, bringing the annual total to 479 mass shootings in the United States in 2024 alone.
“The Second Amendment says that people have the right to bear arms, and even with an assault weapons ban, you still have the right to bear arms,” Zeeshan said. “You can purchase other types of guns, shotguns, things of that nature. So, in our view, it doesn’t make sense that ordinary civilians should be allowed to gain access to these weapons and use them in everyday life.”
Since the inception of PICA, much debate has arisen over its constitutionality and relationship to the Second Amendment. Ben McKenzie, freshman in LAS and a Turning Point USA UIUC member, shared his discontent with the ban.
“I personally believe that assault weapons bans are unconstitutional,” McKenzie said of McGlynn’s ruling.
He further explained that he hopes McGlynn’s decision will prevail but expects a lengthy legal process.
McKenzie also mentioned three cases that loosened gun regulations — District of Columbia v. Heller, McDonald v. Chicago and New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen — to support his opinion that commonly used firearms must align with historical regulations.
“I kind of knew that due to the court system, (the case) would be brought to the higher court, and then, obviously, that decision would be reversed,” McKenzie said. “So it was kind of just a small victory for gun rights.”
Some of the most prominent backlash to PICA came from the state’s county sheriffs, with nine in 10 refusing to enforce the ban. Sheriff Mark Landers of Logan County was among the first to speak on his dissatisfaction and released a statement on social media in January 2023.
“I, among many others, believe that HB 5471 is a clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution,” the statement read. “Therefore, as the custodian of the jail and chief law enforcement official for Logan County, that neither myself nor my office will be checking to ensure that lawful gun owners register their weapons with the State, nor will we be arresting or housing law abiding individuals that have been charged solely with non-compliance of this act.”
Pritzker responded to the sheriffs by maintaining that law enforcement officials in Illinois are sworn to uphold and enforce all state laws, regardless of differing opinions.
“They took an oath of office to enforce the laws of the state of Illinois, and they will do so,” Pritzker said. “These are folks who are entrusted by the public to enforce the law. They don’t get to choose which laws they enforce.”
