‘Best justice money can buy,’ plaintiff says of Illinois gun ban ruling
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[August 12, 2023]
By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – While a split Illinois Supreme Court upheld the
state’s gun and magazine ban, Gov. J.B. Pritkzer acknowledges the
chances it survives a federal challenge aren’t great.
Pritzker praised Friday's ruling in a statement.
“This is a commonsense gun reform law to keep mass-killing machines off
of our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks, and places of
worship,” Pritzker said. “Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in every
corner of our state – whether they are attending a Fourth of July Parade
or heading to work – and that’s precisely what the Protect Illinois
Communities Act accomplishes.”
State Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, who brought the case, disagreed.
“Just the opposite,” he said. “It disarms honest [Firearm Owner
Identification] card citizens. It takes away common guns that they use
for self protection or to protect their families.”
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Friday's outcome was “the best justice money can buy,” Caulkins said.
Caulkins' attorneys motioned for Justices Elizabeth Rochford and Mary
O'Brien to recuse themselves before the case was heard in May because of
$1 million political donations they each received from Pritzker last
year. The justices denied those motions. Rochford wrote the majority
decision upholding the law Friday. O'Brien joined the dissent.
Asked if he’ll pursue that perceived conflict in federal court, Caulkins
couldn’t say.
"I don't know the answer to that," Caulkins said. "That's going to be up
to our attorneys and how we want to proceed and what we can afford to
do."
Pritzker previously downplayed concerns over donations he gave to two of
the justices’ campaign accounts last year.
Caulkins’ case in state court dealt with equal protections challenges as
the law does not apply to police or others working in the law
enforcement and security sectors. Separate challenges of the law in
federal court focus on the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
Illinois.gov
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It’s unclear when the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will
rule on the Second Amendment challenge in federal court. That could
go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Before Friday’s ruling from the Illinois Supreme Court, Pritzker
acknowledged the outcome in federal court could trump that.
“And that as of late the appointees to the Supreme Court, the U.S.
Supreme Court, are people who unfortunately want to take away the
rights of parade goers and people who live in our neighborhoods to
live safely,” Pritzker said.
The state-level cases may not be over. Attorney Thomas DeVore, who
secured temporary restraining orders for thousands of clients in
cases separate from Friday’s ruling, said those orders are still in
place until they are dissolved by a judge.
“If the court enters an order sometime in the next week or two
dissolving the TRO, it will be what it is, but ultimately the bigger
issues is our case surviving and being able to address the issue of
constitutionality that Caulkins and his team let fall by the
wayside,” DeVore told The Center Square.
The Illinois Attorney General’s office said in a statement they “are
pleased with the court’s decision” and the law upheld by the
Illinois Supreme Court is “part of a multi-faceted approach to
addressing gun violence.”
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“We are firmly committed to protecting Illinois residents from the
gun violence that impacts too many communities throughout the
state,” the AG’s office said. “We will continue to defend the
constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act and other
measures that reduce gun violence in our communities.”
The AG’s office didn’t immediately respond when asked about the
status of DeVore’s TROs. |