Briefs from Illinois, local governments with gun bans, due Monday
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[June 05, 2023]
By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Monday is the deadline for the state of Illinois
and local governments defending gun and magazine bans to file briefs in
a federal appellate court. Another measure queued for the governor could
also wind up in court.
Cases from the Southern and Northern district federal courts in Illinois
were consolidated last month with an expedited briefing schedule
throughout this month.
“Motions to extend these dates, or to allow late filings by amici
curiae, will not be entertained,” said the order from the Seventh
Circuit Court of Appeals.
Oral arguments in Chicago are set for June 29. The case involves
challenges from several gun-rights groups and individuals from across
the state and includes direct challenges to bans in Naperville, Chicago
and Cook County in addition to Illinois’ law.
While the state and local governments defend the gun control measure
already on the books, Illinois legislators are poised to send Gov. J.B.
Pritzker another bill some expect to be challenged.
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House Bill 218 opens the gun industry up to potential lawsuits from
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Raoul told a Senate committee the
measure would hold the firearms industry liable when they knowingly
endanger the public with firearms sales, among other things.
“It prohibits marketing that reasonably appears to support unlawful
paramilitary or unlawful private militia activities in Illinois,” Raoul
said.
Pritzker signaled he will sign the bill.
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Illinois gun owners during a rally in
Springfield
Greg Bishop / The Center Square
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jun/05/images/ads/current/bennet_lda_010722.png)
“This legislation finally protects Illinoisans from predatory actions by
the firearms industry,” Pritzker said in a statement after the measure
cleared the Illinois Statehouse. “I intend to sign this bill into law
and clarify the Attorney General’s ability to hold reckless
manufacturers and advertisers accountable for their actions.”
Another gun-control measure didn’t advance.
House Bill 676, proposes a variety of changes, including a task force to
evaluate mandating insurance for gun owners. While it passed the House,
It did not advance in the Senate before legislators left for the summer.
Kirk Evans with U.S. Law Shield said their service provides participants
who pay a monthly fee an attorney “from start to finish” if they use a
firearm for self defense. That’s different from what may be speculated
in a mandate. Evans said such liability insurance may be hard to find.
“It would be years. For instance, in California there’s a jurisdiction
that mandated insurance,” Evans told WMAY. “No policies available and in
order to get a policy administered there you’re probably looking at a
one- to two-year process.”
Last month, a New Jersey federal judge blocked that state’s requirement
for firearms owners to get liability insurance.
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. |