Federal appeals court upholds Illinois assault weapons ban as Supreme Court takes up issue

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld Illinois' assault weapons and large-capacity magazine ban, days after the U.S. Supreme Court decided it will soon take up the issue of weapon bans.

On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld Illinois' assault weapons ban in a 2-1 decision.

The ban was passed in the months following that deadly mass shooting during the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in 2023.

In 2024, a southern Illinois judge ruled that ban unconstitutional. But in Thursday's split decision, the appeals court ruled it's up to lawmakers if they want to ban AR-15s and high capacity magazines.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced last month that it would hear arguments over the constitutionality of Cook County's ban on assault weapons.

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A Supreme Court that has expanded gun rights will consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles, often called assault weapons, violate the Second Amendment.

SCOTUS justices said late last month they will take up appeals asking the court to strike down bans on the AR-15 and similar semiautomatic firearms in the Chicago area and Connecticut.

Similar laws are in place in about a dozen states, covering major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Congress allowed a national assault weapons ban to expire in 2004, but Democrats have supported renewing it in response to a series of mass shootings and states have continued to pass their own laws.

The cases are the latest high-profile disputes over guns to reach the court since its conservative majority handed down a landmark ruling in 2022 that expanded Second Amendment rights and spawned challenges to firearm laws around the country.

The Supreme Court case is expected to be heard in the fall.

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office said in a statement, "We will not back down from defending Cook County's long-standing ban on assault weapons. These weapons of war are designed to inflict the maximum amount of carnage and destruction and have no place in our communities. Countless victims have already endured the devastating impact of gun violence. We will defend this lawful ordinance before this nation's highest court to continue protecting the people of Cook County."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.