Court rulings against gun regulations across U.S. could have ramifications in Illinois

[February 08, 2023]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Recent court cases across the country challenging gun regulations could be an issue for conversation at the Illinois statehouse as the state faces a bevy of lawsuits over its gun and magazine ban.

After last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a New York case challenging that state’s gun laws, a new precedent was set. Gun rights advocate Todd Vandermyde said no longer are courts to balance public safety with fundamental rights. Instead, he said, courts are to rule on the text and tradition of the Second Amendment as a “supercharged right.”

“Courts around the country are taking the New York decision, which some call Bruen, to heart,” Vandermyde told The Center Square.

One recent federal case decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit had a panel find the prohibition of someone possessing a firearm because they’re the subject of a civil domestic violence order, not a criminal conviction, is unconstitutional. The decision could have impacts on states with so-called “red flag laws” like Illinois.

Another case out of Oklahoma had a U.S. District Court judge rule a federal law prohibiting marijuana users from owning firearms is unconstitutional.

Illinois state Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee that held hearings on Illinois’ gun and magazine ban before it was approved and enacted, sees the way courts across the country are handling different cases and is open to further discussions.

“We’ll be sure not to kind of step on the toes of what the judiciary and our courts will be embarking upon, but we certainly want to have the conversation,” Slaughter told The Center Square. “More so from the perspective of doing a subject matter hearing. Hearing the concerns, hearing the questions, getting clarity on certain perspectives.”

In Illinois, several state-level courts have issued limited temporary restraining orders against the state’s gun ban with more expected in the days ahead. Several federal-level court challenges also are pending against Illinois' new gun ban.

Vandermyde said he’d revisit the issues with state lawmakers.

“I have some mixed feelings about it but if they want to sit down and have an honest conversation, we can have that, I just don’t think they are going to like what they hear,” Vandermyde said. “You have the court of appeals following New York down to the letter and saying you can’t do this.”

On Jan. 10, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted a ban on more than 170 semi-automatic firearms and certain magazine capacities, despite some warning the measure was unconstitutional with gun rights groups making good on their promise to file lawsuits.

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.