A lower court judge in Illinois has issued a restraining order on an Illinois order which bans some semiautomatic rifles as well as high-capacity magazines. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed “the gun control law on Jan. 10, which bans the sale and distribution of assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and switches, which went into effect immediately after he approved it.” But Effingham County Judge Joshua Morrison has issued a restraining order against the law which prevents it from going into effect.
The new ruling comes in response to a lawsuit from 4 gun merchants and 850 individuals who argued the law was not enacted correctly and didn’t take into account public input. The lawsuit also argues, “that the law violated the state and U.S. Constitutions equal protection clause in providing exemptions for some groups of people based on their occupation or training.” People who are active or retired law enforcement are excluded from the ban.
In his ruling, Morrison states” that the plaintiffs are “being immediately and irreparably harmed each day in which their fundamental right to bear arms is being denied.”
Illinois is also facing challenges to the law from other sources, including one from the National Rifle Association who promises to fight back.
Jason Ouimet, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action also told Fox, “The NRA will not stand by while activist politicians pass unconstitutional laws that do nothing to promote public safety. We sued the state of Illinois because this new law is a blatant violation of Americans’ Second Amendment rights.”
