Effingham County judge temporarily blocks assault-style weapons ban

An Effingham County judge ordered a temporary restraining order regarding the state's recently-passed assault-style weapons ban on Friday, securing a win for the moment at least for gun rights advocates.

Judge Joshua Morrison wrote in his 11-page decision announced just before 5 p.m. on Friday that the state did not "follow the procedural requirements" in passing House Bill 5471, also known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act. The order would only apply to the more than the 850 defendants in the case.

"This legislation has used criteria to choose who can and cannot the possess the weapons that without due consideration," the order reads. "Additionally, due to the speed with which this bill was passed, the effect to protected classes could not have been considered, nor could the Legislature have studied if this was the least restrictive way to meet their goal."

Attorney and unsuccessful Republican candidate for Illinois attorney general Thomas DeVore had requested an emergency hearing on the matter, which was heard on Wednesday. He represented Accuracy Firearms of Effingham, who filed the case, three other limited liability companies and 862 individuals in the matter.

The request for a TRO came as DeVore argued HB 5471, signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker earlier this month which banned dozens of specific types of rapid-fire handguns and rifles, .50-caliber guns, and attachments, had several procedural and constitutional violations.

DeVore said action by the Illinois General Assembly on the bill violated the single subject rule and three readings clause, while also violating a state constitutional right of equal protection. The bill exempts current and retired law enforcement officers from purchasing or possessing any of the weapons banned by the bill.

"What my clients are asking for is for you to enter an injunction today on their behalf that says during the pendency of this case, they maintain their rights that have been afforded to the tens of thousands of exempt persons in the statute," DeVore said. "No more. No less."

Recent:Gun rights advocates file opening legal challenges to Illinois’ assault weapons ban

Named as defendants in the suit were Pritzker, Senate President Don Harmon, House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

Pritzker was not surprised but disappointed by the court's decision.

"The Protect Illinois Communities Act takes weapons of war and mass destruction off the street while allowing law-abiding gun owners to retain their collections," he said in a statement after the decision was announced. "I look forward to the next steps in this case and receiving the decision this case merits.”

Harmon, who quipped that the state "will see you in court" during his closing Senate floor remarks, said Friday the ruling will be appealed. The AG office confirmed that it had filed a notice of appeal and would be seeking a reversal of the decision to the Appellate Court.

A preliminary injunction has been scheduled for 9:30 a.m., Feb. 1.

Illinois is the ninth state to pass a weapons ban.

The challengers

Legal challenges were promised even prior to the governor's signature of HB 5471 last week, which also set limits to high-capacity magazines and requires gun owners to register their weapons with the Illinois State Police by Jan. 1, 2024.

Related:Federal lawsuit challenges Illinois semiautomatic weapons ban

DeVore's suit was one of three filed recently, where he was joined with attorney Thomas Maag who filed in Crawford County and a federal lawsuit from the Illinois State Rifle Association.

Maag filed the first suit on Jan. 13 on grounds the bill violated several amendments in the U.S. Constitution. In addition to claims it violated the Second Amendment, the suit says rights against self-incrimination and equal protection guaranteed by the Fifth and 14th amendments respectively were also violated.

ISRA filed its federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on Tuesday with the Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc., the Second Amendment Foundation, a resident of St. Clair County and two Illinois gun stores.

Their suit against Raoul, ISP Director Brendan Kelly, and several states attorneys and sheriffs claims similar violations of the Second and 14th Amendments, but also on the impact it will have on gun stores.

Not being able to sell "large capacity magazines," which the plaintiffs claim are more accurately described as "standard capacity magazines," will cause these businesses to lose profits. HB 5471 sets the limit of rounds per magazine at 10 for long guns and 15 rounds of ammunition for handguns.

"The real problem is that there are existing gun laws that do not work because they are not enforced,” said Richard Pearson, executive director of the ISRA, in a statement. “We would all be much safer if the police had the resources they need, and there were stronger consequences for the non-law-abiding citizens.”

More:Can Illinois sheriffs refuse to enforce new gun law? The court system will have a say

Dozens of county sheriffs, including Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, issued statements saying they would not enforce the ban within their jurisdiction. Campbell said his office would not be not checking individuals to see if they had registered their weapons with ISP and called the bill unconstitutional.

More:Sangamon County sheriff, others won't enforce weapons ban, gun registry

The governor was critical of the sheriffs who said they would not enforce the ban, going as far as to call it "political grandstanding."

What else is in HB 5471?

HB 5471 was the third and final version of the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which passed on the final day of the lame-duck session.

It included amendments from Harmon to the earlier version passed by the Illinois House of Representatives under Senate Bill 2226. Most attention has been given to what weapons are banned, but the bill also includes a change to the state's Firearm Restraining Order Act.

The bill upped the period a petitioner can request a FRO for a person posing a "significant danger of causing personal injury to himself, herself, or another" to one year from the previous six-month standard.

One Republican, now former House Minority Leader and state Rep. Jim Durkin of Western Springs supported it. Several downstate Democrats, including state Sen. Doris Turner of Springfield, voted no on the bill. It passed in the House 68-41 and 34-20 in the Senate on Jan. 10.

More lawsuits are expected to be filed in subsequent weeks.

Capitol News Illinois contributed to this story.

Contact Patrick Keck: pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.com

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Effingham County judge temporarily blocks Illinois assault weapons ban