Judge Temporarily Blocks Illinois Ban on Commonly Owned Semiautomatic Rifles

Effingham County Judge Joshua Morrison issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) Friday, stopping, for now, the implementation of the Illinois ban on commonly owned semiautomatic rifles.

Breitbart News reported that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed the ban on January 10, 2023. The new law allows those who already own the banned firearms to retain them, but requires that the owners register the guns with the Illinois State Police.

Pritzker’s office released a statement upon his signing of the bill. It said, in part, “The new law also requires existing owners of semi-automatic rifles to register their ownership, ensuring that law enforcement knows the location of these weapons of war and who to hold accountable if they fall into the wrong hands.”

FOX News noted that Judge Morrison issued a TRO Friday in a case brought by “citizens from 87 Illinois counties.”

Morrison noted that the right to bear arms is protected by the U.S. Constitution and the Illinois constitution.

He observed that the 830 plaintiffs from the 87 counties “are being immediately and irreparably harmed each day in which their fundamental right to bear arms is being denied.”

On January 15, 2023, Breitbart News pointed out that sheriffs in 80 of Illinois’ 102 counties had made clear they believe the ban violated the constitution and were refusing to enforce it.

On January 20, 2023, the Wall Street Journal explained “almost every sheriff in Illinois has vowed not to enforce a new ban on military-style semiautomatic weapons.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.