A federal judge overturned the Illinois assault weapons ban and issued a permanent injunction on Friday, requiring the state to stop enforcing the ban permanently.
United States District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn stated the Protect Illinois Communities Act is unconstitutional per the Second Amendment. McGlynn released a 168-page opinion document alongside the ruling to explain the reason behind the decision and decided the injunction would not take effect for 30 days after the verdict.
PICA was first signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker in January 2023. It prohibited the manufacturing, sale, purchase and possession of all AK rifles and similar weapons in Illinois.
“While mass shootings and firearm-related deaths are universally tragic and senseless, the government has not met its burden to prove that the history and tradition of firearm regulations supports PICA’s expansive sweep, covering hundreds of models of weapons, magazines, and attachments used by tens of millions of law-abiding United States citizens,” McGlynn said.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul responded by filing a notice of appeal on the evening of the judge’s ruling.
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“Although this decision is disappointing, the Protect Illinois Communities Act remains in effect for now,” said Andrew Hill, deputy press secretary of the Office of the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, via email. “The law is an important part of the state’s comprehensive efforts to make communities safe from gun violence. We will continue to defend the law’s constitutionality, as we have in courtrooms throughout Illinois, and have appealed the Court’s decision.”
PICA was written into law largely in response to the mass shooting at Highland Park’s Independence Day parade in 2022, where a gunman opened fire on a crowd of spectators and killed seven people, injuring at least 30 more.
“The fear is that, as a result of this ruling, these weapons — weapons of war — will be allowed back onto the streets and pave the way for a lot more tragedies,” said Ibrahim Zeeshan, member of the Illini Democrats. “A lot of mass shootings that we see in this country can be traced back to assault weapons, the AR-15 and things of that nature.”
Since its inception, PICA has received its fair share of backlash from county sheriffs, many of whom choose not to enforce the ban. The plaintiffs brought the case to the Supreme Court, but in July 2024, the Court denied review and sent it back to the lower courts for further consideration.
“I’m very supportive of the Second Amendment, but at the same time, I am also very supportive of any measure for public safety,” said Eann Tang, senior in LAS and president of the University’s Turning Point USA chapter. “I believe that more of the issue has to do with illegally obtained guns than the guns that are legally obtained by law-abiding citizens. I think there should be a bigger crackdown on crime and gang-related gun violence.”
Appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2020 to the Southern District of Illinois, McGlynn cited 15 years of court proceedings to support his ruling. He rejected the notion that technological advancements and mass killings should alter the constitutional interpretation of the Second Amendment despite the changes in modern society.
“One can assume that we’ll see a lot more Trump judges be appointed and a lot more of these rulings, too,” Zeeshan said. “My personal belief is that a lot of the things (Trump) promised aren’t really going to happen, but him appointing judges and getting them approved through a Republican Senate is one of the few things he is very much able to do, and is one of the few harms that I think will come out of the next Trump presidency.”
Amid concerns over future judicial appointments, others like Tang see value in discussing the broader implications of political polarization.
“I think it’s a good thing that we’re having this conversation because of how scary political polarization has become and because these things don’t exist in a vacuum,” Tang said. “If we can really talk more about policies and sensible solutions, then I think that’s a great thing.”
