Naperville plaintiffs hope to succeed in striking down local gun bans

[April 21, 2023]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – While gun owners await the outcome of the challenge to a statewide gun ban in Illinois’ Southern District federal court, plaintiffs in the case challenging Naperville’s ban say theirs is important to deal with local bans.

The furthest along challenge of the gun and magazine ban in Illinois comes from Robert Bevis and Law Weapons. Last year, they sued Naperville over the city’s gun ban. They amended the case to include a challenge of Illinois’ gun ban after the state law was enacted Jan. 10. After a Northern District court sided with the state in February, the case is now pending in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal. Earlier this week, the appeals court without giving a reason denied a motion from plaintiffs to grant an injunction while the case is being appealed.

On the opposite side of the state, the consolidated cases in the Southern District federal court challenge the state’s gun ban. Judge Stephen McGlynn has that under advisement after oral arguments last week. If he issues a statewide injunction against the state’s law, that’s not expected to impact any local ordinances like in Naperville.

Hannah Hill with the National Foundation for Gun Rights said the outcome of the Naperville case is paramount.

“It doesn’t matter at the end of the day what level of government is taking away your rights,” Hill told WMAY. “If you can’t function as a business, you can’t function and you’re going to lose that business. And, that’s exactly what the constitution is in place to prevent. So, that’s why we’re fighting this case. That’s why we’re fighting for Law Weapons up in Naperville and we’re very excited to see what the Seventh Circuit is going to do.”

Other local governments that have similar bans include Highland Park and Deerfield.

Gun control advocate John Schmidt with G-PAC said previous U.S. Supreme Court precedent allows governments to ban certain weapons.

“Under the [New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen] case, you have to defend it historically, and in the [Naperville] case, [Judge Virginia Kendall] said in fact we have a long historical tradition in this country of banning dangerous weapons,” Schmidt told The Center Square.

Hill said previous precedent is clear. The standard is not dangerous or unusual, it’s dangerous and unusual. And, AR-15 rifles are not unusual, he said.

“The analysis stops there. Full stop. You cannot categorically ban commonly used weapons and nothing is more commonly used than the AR-15,” Hill said.

Separate from the federal lawsuits across the state, there are several state-level cases pending with one set to be heard by the Illinois Supreme Court next month. The state level cases challenge the law on grounds it violates equal protections by not applying to police, retired police or others in the law enforcement and security sectors.

Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning Newsfeed out of Springfield.