A federal judge in southern Illinois ruled on Friday that Illinois’ “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazine bans violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments and issued a permanent injunction that would not take effect until next month, allowing state officials to appeal the ruling.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois Judge Stephen McGlynn ruled Friday on the case of Harrel v. Raoul and issued the injunction that would not go into effect until 30 days after, or December 8.
The ruling comes after a 3-day bench trial in September.
“PICA is an unconstitutional affront to the Second Amendment and must be enjoined,” McGlynn said in his 168-page ruling on Friday.
“The Government may not deprive law-abiding citizens of their guaranteed right to self-defense as a means of offense. The Court will stay enforcement of the permanent injunction for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of this Order,” McGlynn said.
“Most importantly, considering all the evidence presented, the Court holds that the provisions of PICA criminalizing the knowing possession of specific semiautomatic rifles, shotguns, magazines, and attachments are unconstitutional under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution as applied to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment,” McGlynn added.
The 30-day stay would allow state officials to appeal Friday’s ruling.
If the state does not appeal the ruling by December 8, then McGlynn’s permanent injunction would prohibit the state from enforcing the Protect Illinois Communities Act’s (PICA) criminal penalties – including firearm registration requirements – against all Illinois citizens.
“As the prohibition of firearms is unconstitutional, so is the registration scheme for assault weapons, attachments, and large-capacity magazines,” McGlynn said.
The Harrel case, along with several other similar cases, was brought forward in January 2023 after Governor JB Pritzker signed into law an “assault weapons” ban, also known as PICA, which banned the sale and distribution of high-capacity weapons in Illinois and capped sales of high-capacity ammunition magazines, among other measures.
The six plaintiffs in the Harrel case filed the lawsuit against Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and several other government officials in Illinois.
The plaintiffs listed were Dane Harrel, a resident of St. Clair County; C4 Gun Store, LLC, in Sparta; Marengo Guns, Inc., in Marengo; the Illinois State Rifle Association; the Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc.; and the Second Amendment Foundation.
Raoul, Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly, St. Clair County State’s Attorney James Gomric, Randolph County State’s Attorney Jeremy Walker, McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally, St. Clair County Sheriff Richard Watson, Randolph County Sheriff Jarrod Peters and McHenry County Sheriff Robb Tadelman were listed as the defendants.
The plaintiffs’ principal allegations were that PICA is unconstitutional under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Sheriffs from across Illinois – including Tadelman – immediately pushed back on the law, calling it unconstitutional and refusing to enforce it.
Kenneally also challenged the constitutionality of the law and sued Pritzker and Raoul in January 2023.
McGlynn looked at prior Supreme Court cases like District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008, McDonald v. City of Chicago in 2010, New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen in 2022 and United States v. Rahimi in 2024.
McGlynn said that the plaintiffs “have successfully proven the merits of their case.”
“This Court recognizes that Illinois’s definition of ‘assault weapons’ may be referenced elsewhere in the statutory scheme and that future legislation may be passed that does not offend the Second Amendment. However, this Court is unable to determine a reasonable way to sever the offensive portions of PICA such that what remains would have been enacted by the legislature or is operative as a law,” McGlynn said.
“Therefore, this Court holds that the operative provisions of PICA cannot be severed from the whole and must be stricken in the entirety,” McGlynn added.
McGlynn also said that “PICA can and will be enforced arbitrarily” because many sheriffs in the state believe that PICA is unconstitutional.
“What is particularly disturbing is that the prohibition of weapons that are commonly owned and used by citizens are now banned, depriving citizens of a principal means to defend themselves and their property in situations where a handgun or shotgun alone would not be the citizen’s preferred arm,” McGlynn said.
McGlynn previously issued a preliminary injunction in April 2023 in the case of Barnett v. Raoul, which temporarily barred the state from enforcing PICA.
That injunction was reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in November 2023 in the case of Bevis v. City of Naperville.
The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the “assault weapons” ban in a 4-3 ruling in August 2023.
The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to hear an appeal on any case challenging PICA.
Gun rights advocacy groups have reacted positively to Friday’s ruling.
“We are gratified that the Court properly found that these bans violate the constitutionally protected rights of Illinois residents and visitors. As we clearly showed at trial, PICA fails even under the Seventh Circuit’s misguided test that conflicts with binding Supreme Court precedent,” Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs said.
“We will continue to fight forward until we eliminate every unconstitutional ban like this throughout the country. Further, we are optimistic that the Supreme Court will soon address bans like these in our Snope v. Brown case out of Maryland, which is pending the Court’s decision on our petition for certiorari. Gun owners across the United States should be confident that the ultimate victory on these issues is coming, likely soon,” Combs added.
The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) said that they have been “fighting against this ban since its introduction at the Illinois Statehouse.”
“Our legislative team tried to warn lawmakers about the unconstitutionality of Pritzker’s scheme,” the ISRA said.
“After the Governor put his signature on this affront to citizen’s rights, the ISRA partnered with the Second Amendment Foundation to file suit in Federal Court with a promise to see this through to the US Supreme Court if necessary. Today’s ruling affirms our legislative position and shows our dedication to fighting on behalf of the millions of law-abiding Illinois firearms owners.”
“Barring any further court action, the ISRA looks forward to restoration of 2nd Amendment rights to Illinois firearms owners just in time for the holidays and winter hunting seasons,” the ISRA added.
Pritzker and Raoul have not yet released their statements on the ruling.