(GoRealNewsNow.com) – NEWS NOW: A federal judge has blocked the enforcement of an Illinois state law banning “assault” weapons and high-capacity magazines for the duration of a lawsuit challenging the legislation.
The preliminary injunction blocking the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) was issued last Friday by Judge Stephen McGlynn of the Southern District of Illinois in East St. Louis, Newsmax reports.
The judge argued that there was a “reasonable likelihood” that numerous plaintiffs who sued insisting that PICA violates their rights under the Second Amendment would succeed, as cited by The Hill.
The controversial Illinois state law was signed by the state’s Democrat governor, J.B. Pritzker, on January 10, 2023.
It prohibits the sale of over 190 types of “assault-style weapons, high-capacity magazines and switches that convert handguns into assault-style firearms.”
Judge McGlynn ruled that PICA would probably be proclaimed unconstitutional when the lawsuit against it goes to trial, meaning the plaintiffs’ rights would be harmed if there was no preliminary injunction. “There is no question that Plaintiffs are harmed by PICA and will continue to be harmed if this Court denies the motion for preliminary injunction,” McGlynn wrote in his 29-page order.
“A constitutional right is at stake. Some Plaintiffs cannot purchase their firearm of choice, nor can they exercise their right to self-defense in the manner they choose. They are bound by the state’s limitations. Moreover, other Plaintiffs cannot sell their inventory, even to residents of other states that do not ban the ‘arms’ identified in PICA,” the judge elaborated.
Gun rights advocates praised his blocking of PICA.
“Governor Pritzker and his anti-gun cabal in the legislature thought they could steamroll the Second Amendment, and this ruling makes clear that they abused their authority and infringed on their citizens’ rights,” declared Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, one of the plaintiffs in the case.
“We look forward to continuing this fight,” Pratt added.
The Illinois law was passed after the July 4 parade shooting in Highland Park last year, which left seven people killed and 48 injured.
In his ruling, the judge, who President Donald Trump appointed, mentioned the mass shooting concerning the law.
“While PICA was purportedly enacted in response to the Highland Park shooting, it does not appear that the legislature considered an individual’s right under the Second Amendment nor Supreme Court precedent,” McGlynn wrote.
“Moreover, PICA did not just regulate the rights of the people to defend themselves; it restricted that right, and in some cases, completely obliterated that right by criminalizing the purchase and the sale of more than 190 ‘arms,’” he elaborated.
His ruling came after earlier last week, another federal judge turned down a request to block PICA.
According to McGlynn, PICA is inconsistent with the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which nixed a New York law requiring that applicants for concealed carry permits show “proper cause.”
Federal judge blocks Illinois assault weapons ban https://t.co/AO0KilzRla pic.twitter.com/w9WxlhVDbQ
— The Hill (@thehill) April 30, 2023
