A federal judge overturned an Illinois law banning many semi-automatic firearms, ruling it violated the right to bear arms.

According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn of the Southern District of Illinois ruled the ban was not “consistent with the nation’s history and tradition of firearm regulations.”

“FPC WIN: Today, Federal District Court Judge Stephen P. McGlynn has ruled in the FPC Law case of Harrel v. Raoul that the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which bans semi-automatic firearms and their magazines, is unconstitutional,” Firearms Policy Coalition wrote.

“PICA is an unconstitutional affront to the Second Amendment and must be enjoined,” the Court said in its decision, according to Firearms Policy Coalition.

“The Government may not deprive law-abiding citizens of their guaranteed right to self-defense as a means of offense,” the ruling added.

"PICA is an unconstitutional affront to the Second Amendment and must be enjoined," the Court said in its decision. "The Government may not deprive law-abiding citizens of their guaranteed right to self-defense as a means of offense."

— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) November 8, 2024

“However, the Court also stayed the injunction for 30 days to allow the State time to appeal and seek a stay from the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit,” the group noted.

“We are gratified that the Court properly found that these bans violate the constitutionally protected rights of Illinois residents and visitors. As we clearly showed at trial, PICA fails even under the Seventh Circuit’s misguided test that conflicts with binding Supreme Court precedent,” said FPC President Brandon Combs.

"We are gratified that the Court properly found that these bans violate the constitutionally protected rights of Illinois residents and visitors. As we clearly showed at trial, PICA fails even under the Seventh Circuit’s misguided test that conflicts with binding Supreme Court…

— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) November 8, 2024

Per Reuters:

A spokesperson for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in an email that the law is an “important part of the state’s comprehensive efforts to make communities safe from gun violence,” and that the state would appeal McGlynn’s ruling.

The Illinois law bans the sale and distribution of many kinds of high-powered semiautomatic “assault weapons,” including AK-47 and AR-15 rifles, as well as large-capacity magazines. It was passed in 2023 after a massacre at a 2022 Independence Day parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park that killed seven people.

McGlynn temporarily blocked the law in January 2023 while he heard the case, but that order was reversed on appeal, allowing the ban to take effect. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the plaintiffs’ bid to revive the temporary order earlier this year.

In Friday’s ruling, McGlynn said the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protected citizens’ right to bear arms to defend themselves against aggressors.

“To limit civilians’ choice of arms would tip the scale in favor of the aggressors, who already will likely have various tactical advantages, including the element of surprise,” he wrote.

Federal Judge Says Illinois Gun and Magazine Ban Violates Second Amendmenthttps://t.co/0SutfJrqSv

— Bearing Arms (@BearingArmsCom) November 8, 2024

"BREAKING: In response to a GOA lawsuit, a federal judge has overturned Illinois' ban on semiautomatic weapons, which was adopted in violation of the Second Amendment and the People’s rights."

Fixed that for you. https://t.co/BbvSrcP6tP

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) November 9, 2024

From the Associated Press:

U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn issued the lengthy finding in a decree that he said applied universally, not just to the plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit challenging the ban.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act, signed into law in January 2023 by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, took effect Jan. 1. It bans AR-15 rifles and similar guns, large-capacity magazines and a wide assortment of attachments largely in response to the 2022 Independence Day shooting at a parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.

McGlynn’s order doesn’t take effect for 30 days.

“Sadly, there are those who seek to usher in a sort of post-Constitution era where the citizens’ individual rights are only as important as they are convenient to a ruling class,” McGlynn, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, wrote in his opinion. “The oft-quoted phrase that ‘no right is absolute’ does not mean that fundamental rights precariously subsist subject to the whims, caprice, or appetite of government officials or judges.”

Pritzker and Democratic Attorney General Kwame Raoul pledged to swiftly appeal the ruling.

“Despite those who value weapons of war more than public safety, this law was enacted to and has protected Illinoisans from the constant fear of being gunned down in places where they ought to feel secure,” Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough said.

The Illinois State Rifle Association, in a post on its website, said, “Our legislative team tried to warn lawmakers about the unconstitutionality of Pritzker’s scheme.”