Illinois Supreme Court upholds assault-style weapons ban, more challenges to follow

The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the state's semi-assault weapons ban on Friday -- a key push by Democratic lawmakers in response to gun violence throughout the state.

In a 4-3 decision, the state's high court found the Protect Illinois Communities Act constitutional and overturned a ruling made earlier this year by a Macon County judge.

Almost six months to the day of the Highland Park shooting, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the legislation which bans the manufacture, sale and possession of nearly 200 types of guns in January. Many types of grips, stocks, attachments are also banned along with limits on rounds per magazine for long guns and handguns.

“This is a commonsense gun reform law to keep mass-killing machines off of our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks, and places of worship," the governor said in a statement. "Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in every corner of our state — whether they are attending a Fourth of July Parade or heading to work — and that’s precisely what the Protect Illinois Communities Act accomplishes."

More: Hundreds of bill signings: What still awaits on Gov. Pritzker's desk?

Republicans had by-in-large opposed the bill, only receiving support from former House Minority Leader Jim Durkin. This lawsuit was brought up by Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, who claimed the ban violated the Second Amendment and equal protection clause of the state constitution.

Caulkins and his attorney, Jerrold Stocks, argued that exceptions for "trained professionals" like police officers, active-duty military, corrections officials and qualified security guards who can still carry these weapons had created this imbalance. They also took issue with the bills's grandfather clause which allows those that possessed semiautomatic guns before Jan. 10 to keep them as long as they are registered with state police by Jan. 1, 2024.

Justice Elizabeth Rochford, writing for the majority, countered that in the case of grandfathered gun owners, there’s no dissimilar treatment. And just having a Firearm Owner Identification card doesn’t mean a gun owner has arrest powers or other duties assigned to the trained professionals, nor the training and experience with the firearms they carry.

“The equal protection clause guarantees that similarly situated individuals will be treated in a similar manner, unless the government can demonstrate an appropriate reason to treat those individuals differently,” Rochford wrote. “The equal protection clause does not forbid the Legislature from drawing distinctions in legislation among different categories of people as long as the Legislature does not draw those distinctions based on criteria wholly unrelated to the legislation’s purpose.”

House Minority Leader Tony McCombie said constitutional rights had been “besieged" by the court again taking issue with the campaign funds that Pritzker spent on Democrats Elizabeth Rochford and Mary Kay O’Brien. As The Chicago Tribune reported, the governor used his personal trust fund to get around a spending limit - giving both justices $500,000 each.

O'Brien, however, joined conservatives Lisa Holder White and David Overstreet in dissenting from the majority opinion. Holder White and Overstreet took issue with the legislative process, claiming the bill was not present for three different days in each chamber as needed per the three-readings clause.

In a separate dissent, O'Brien argued the ban of semi-assault weapons will not "reasonably remedy" the issue of mass shootings, which was the impetus of the bill.

The challenge was the latest heard against the weapons ban, following up with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to block the law in May, and more are likely to come. Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, expects the ISRA's case will be heard by the federal court and be a victory.

“Since its enactment in January, this law has already prevented the sales of thousands of assault weapons and high capacity magazines, making Illinois safer for our families," Bill sponsor Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, said. "The federal courts will continue to assess this law, but today’s ruling prioritizes public safety over the gun lobby trying to impose their dangerous, extreme views through the judiciary.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Patrick Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois Supreme Court upholds assault-style weapons ban, more challenges to follow