Federal judge strikes down Illinois assault weapons ban; state files appeal

CHICAGO -- A federal judge in East St. Louis on Friday struck down Illinois' assault weapons ban on the grounds that it violates the Second and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution and issued an order barring the state from enforcing it.

That order, however, was stayed for 30 days, and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed an appeal Friday night.

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In a 168-page opinion released Friday afternoon, Judge Stephen McGlynn sided with plaintiffs in the case who argued the assault-style weapons banned under the law are commonly used for legal purposes such as self-defense.

"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 wrote.

Dan Eldridge is one of the plaintiffs.

"You do not penalize the law abiding who are possessing something lawfully for lawful purposes just because of the deranged acts of depraved individuals," Eldridge said.

In March, before the case went to trial, McGlynn issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law, saying the plaintiffs challenging the law were likely to prevail on the merits of the case.

But the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision, and in July the U.S. Supreme declined to review it - along with several other cases challenging the law - and remanded all the cases back to district courts for full proceedings.

The case before McGlynn was the subject of a week-long trial in September. Two other cases, each with multiple sets of plaintiffs, are pending before district court judges in the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.

Meanwhile, a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Tuesday, Nov. 12, in a case challenging Cook County's local assault weapons ban.

Gov. JB Pritzker issued a statement saying he expected the attorney general would file "an immediate appeal" and for the law to be "upheld through this process."

"The Protect Illinois Communities Act was the result of hundreds of hours of deliberation between legal experts, legislators, and advocates, and it makes Illinois a safer place for everyone," Pritzker said in a statement. "Despite those who value weapons of war more than public safety, this law was enacted to and has protected Illinoisans from the constant fear of being gunned down in places where they ought to feel secure."

Raoul's appeal sets the stage for this legal battle to wage on.

"It really gets final when the Supreme Court either takes the case, considers it, and rules on one side or the other, or whether the Supreme Court refuses to take the case at all, in which case the ruling of the court of appeals will stand," said ABC7 Chief Legal Analyst Gil Soffer.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.