Judge declares Illinois' gun ban unconstitutional

[March 04, 2023]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A Macon County judge has declared Illinois’ gun ban and registry unconstitutional, setting up a direct appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.

The move means the law is not enforceable statewide pending appeal, according to attorney Jerry Stocks, who represents state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, in his challenge to the ban.

Following a status hearing Friday afternoon in the case, Judge Rodney Forbes signed an agreed order declaring the measure unconstitutional.

"Well-established Illinois authority provides that a law declared unconstitutional pursuant to a facial challenge is void, as if the law never existed, and is unenforceable in its entirety, in all applications," Stocks said in a statement after the order was issued.

Forbes initially took the final order under advisement Friday, but he signed it a couple hours later.

Forbes' hands were essentially legally tied because Illinois' 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, a higher court, already upheld a earlier ruling granting a temporary restraining order preventing enforcement of the ban against named plaintiffs only. But Stocks said Friday's order is effective statewide.

The state of Illinois, which agreed to the language of the final order in the Macon County case, argues that the appellate court is wrong and wanted to get it before the Supreme Court as quickly as possible.

"Meanwhile, citizens are encouraged to proceed in the subject matter of the invalid legislation with caution and always are encouraged to seek the advice of his/her own counsel," Stocks said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzer enacted the ban on certain semi-automatic weapons and magazines over certain capacities on Jan. 10. The measure also requires residents in Illinois who legally purchased such weapons before the ban to register them with Illinois State Police by Jan. 1, 2024.

Illinois state Rep. Chris Miller, R-Oakland, state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, and Perry Lewin, owner of Decatur Jewelry and Pawn, Friday in Decatur.
Greg Bishop / The Center Square

Two weeks after the ban was in effect, lawsuits were filed in federal- and state-level courts.

The case argued Friday was brought be state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, and had a temporary restraining order in place barring the state from enforcing the law against named plaintiffs. It is separate from three other cases brought by attorney Thomas DeVore in Effingham and White counties. DeVore’s cases, which were consolidated by the Illinois Supreme Court, also have temporary restraining orders in place.

DeVore’s initial Effingham County case secured a TRO on several procedural issues and on an argument the law violates equal protections for exempting certain professions in security and law enforcement.

The state appealed and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the TRO, but only for the equal protections argument. That led to a cascade of three other TROs to be issued, including for the Macon County case which dealt with the equal protections argument.

In federal court, four cases consolidated in the Southern District of Illinois have a hearing set for April 12. The state filed its response to a motion for a preliminary injunction Thursday arguing the ban addresses dangerous and unusual weapons the Founders of the U.S. Constitution couldn’t imagine in the 18th Century. Plaintiffs argue the law violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

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.