Pritzker: DOJ attorneys ‘wrongheaded’ siding against Illinois’ ‘unconstitutional’ gun ban law

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice have sided against Illinois in a ban on more than 170 semi-automatic firearms, such as AR-15 rifles, calling the ban unconstitutional.

In 2023, Illinois banned the sale of semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines.

A federal judge in the Southern District of Illinois found the state law violated the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms, which the state appealed.

The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is taking up the case, and last month began accepting briefs in the matter.

In its brief, the state argued that the ban restricts dangerous weapons and addresses social concerns regarding mass shootings.

The four plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Illinois argued that no historical precedent exists for the government banning commonly owned firearms.

Attorneys for the DOJ said Friday that “History confirms what the Second Amendment’s text suggests: Possessing weapons for the common defense was a core aspect of the preexisting right to keep and bear arms that the Founders codified in the Second Amendment.”

Gov. JB Pritzker reacted to the filing on Monday, calling the justices “wrongheaded.”

“Look, change of administration, that’s their, you know, this is their, you know, they obviously don’t understand the damage that is being done across the country where there are no assault weapons bans,” Pritzker said. “The number of killings went down significantly and so they’re’ just, they’re making, they’re just wrongheaded on so many things, and this is just one of those.”

Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock, along with 34 other State’s Attorneys, filed an amicus brief Friday, calling for the state’s ban on firearms to be ruled unconstitutional.

“State’s Attorneys have a duty to ensure that the laws we enforce are Constitutional,” Rock said. “This law – which purports to ban this widely owned type of firearm that accounts for only a tiny portion of violent crime in our state and nation clearly is unconstitutional. I am happy to partner with so many other Illinois State’s Attorneys in asking the Seventh Circuit to throw out this law and protect our basic right of effective self-defense of hearth and home in Illinois and the rest of America.”

The case will hear oral arguments in the coming weeks.