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Steven Randall Watt, a combat veteran and retired law
enforcement officer who now owns a private firearms training
company, also said he personally owns many types of weapons
restricted by the law, as well as large-capacity magazines that
he said are an important element in self-defense.
Watt said he subscribes to the adage that says, “You never know
how much ammunition you’re going to need, so you want to keep as
much as possible.”
Watt was the final witness called by plaintiffs in a case
challenging the constitutionality of the state’s assault weapons
ban, formally known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act, or
PICA.
Illinois lawmakers passed that law in January 2023 in response
to the many mass shootings that have occurred in recent years
involving gunmen using assault-style weapons. Among those was
the shooting at a Fourth of July parade the previous summer in
Highland Park that left seven people dead and dozens more
injured or traumatized.
The law prohibits the manufacture, sale and possession by most
people of a long list of firearms that are defined as “assault
weapons.” Those include various kinds of semiautomatic rifles,
pistols or shotguns that have features such as detachable
magazines, adjustable stocks and flash suppressors.
“That description describes the most popular firearms I’m
involved with,” Watt said when read provisions of the law
defining assault weapons.
By showing the banned weapons are commonly used by people for
legal activities such as self-defense, plaintiffs in the case
hope to convince the court that they are protected under the
Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to keep and bear
arms.
Lawyers for the state were scheduled to begin calling their
witnesses Wednesday afternoon, and the trial could wrap up as
early as Thursday.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government.
It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV
stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press
Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with
major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation
and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
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