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US Appeals Court Upholds Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Amid Calls for Federal Law
One lawyer said it is "proof that these laws are consistent with the Second Amendment and can—and should—be upheld by courts across the country."
Illinois Democrats and gun control advocates on Friday welcomed a federal appeals court decision upholding the state's ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines amid renewed demands for a similar restrictions nationwide in the wake of a mass shooting in Maine.
"The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed what gun safety advocates have said from day one—the Protect Illinois Communities Act is a commonsense law that will keep Illinoisans safe," said Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who signed the law that state legislators passed after a July 4, 2022 massacre at a parade in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb.
"Despite constant attacks by the gun lobby that puts ideology over people's lives, here in Illinois we have stood up and said 'no more' to weapons of war on our streets," added Pritzker. "This is a victory for the members of the General Assembly who stood alongside families, students, and survivors who worked so hard to make this day a reality. Now Congress must act so Illinois is not an island surrounded by states with weak protections."
Illinois state Rep. Bob Morgan (D-58)—who represents Highland Park, was at the parade with his young children, and spearheaded the legislative fight for the law—similarly celebrated the new ruling "a huge win" while also calling for federal legislation.
Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also welcomed the decision, saying: "This landmark legislation is an important step for our communities, providing commonsense gun control measures that have been so desperately needed in our city and throughout the state. This decisive measure will aid in keeping weapons of war out of our neighborhoods and off our streets, creating safer communities for all."
The three-judge appellate panel collectively considered six cases challenging state and local bans: four out of the Southern District of Illinois; one against the state, Chicago, and Cook County; and another involving a firearm shop owner from suburban Naperville and the National Association for Gun Rights—who unsuccessfully sought an intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The gun violence prevention group Brady served as counsel for the city of Naperville in the case. In response to the "important victory," Douglas Letter, the organization's chief legal officer, declared that "states and cities should have the right to stop these weapons of war from decimating our communities, and this ruling demonstrates that assault weapon and large-capacity magazine bans are indeed constitutional."
"When the victims of the Highland Park shooting were gunned down by an assault weapon, their local and state leaders took a stand to say enough is enough," he said. "The gun industry feels threatened by the groundswell of voices trying to hold them accountable, and after today, they should feel even more unsteady."
Everytown Law executive director Eric Tirschwell highlighted that the the Chicago-based court's ruling notably came after right-wing U.S. Supreme Court determined last year in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen that gun restrictions must be "consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."
The 2-1 decision Friday "to uphold this lifesaving law is not only a victory for gun safety," Tirschwell said, "it also marks the first significant appeals court decision on this issue since the Supreme Court's decision in Bruen and is proof that these laws are consistent with the Second Amendment and can—and should—be upheld by courts across the country."
U.S. Judges Diane Wood and Frank Easterbrook—respectively appointed by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan—supported upholding the state and local laws, while Judge Michael Brennan, an appointee of President Donald Trump, dissented.
"The Second Amendment to the Constitution recognizes an individual right to 'keep and bear arms. Of that there can be no doubt, in the wake of the Supreme Court's decisions," Wood wrote, citing cases including Bruen. "But as we know from long experience with other fundamental rights, such as the right to free speech, the right peaceably to assemble, the right to vote, and the right to free exercise of religion, even the most important personal freedoms have their limits."
"Government may punish a deliberately false fire alarm; it may condition free assembly on the issuance of a permit; it may require voters to present a valid identification card; and it may punish child abuse even if it is done in the name of religion," she continued. "The right enshrined in the Second Amendment is no different."
Wood also pointed out that the ruling pertains to preliminary injunctive relief, so the panel did not "rule definitively on the constitutionality of the act or any of the municipal ordinances," meaning that the policies could face future challenges.
The decision in Illinois coincided with President Joe Biden's trip to Lewiston, Maine, where a mass shooter last month killed a total of 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar before being found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Biden—who is seeking reelection next year—and others in his administration have called for reinstating a federal assault weapons ban. After the Maine shooting, Vice President Kamala Harris said that "it is a false choice to suggest we must choose between either upholding the Second Amendment or passing reasonable gun safety laws to save lives. Congress can and must make background checks universal. Pass red flag laws. Ban high-capacity magazines. And renew the assault weapons ban."
Such policies are unlikely to pass during the current session, considering the makeup of Congress—though after the carnage in his hometown of Lewiston, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) last month endorsed an assault weapons ban and sought forgiveness for his past opposition to it.
'Unspeakable': Cops Say 6-Year-Old Palestinian American Boy Stabbed to Death by Landlord
"Let's be clear. This was directly connected to the dehumanizing of Palestinians that has been allowed over the last week by our media, by our elected officials," said one Illinois state lawmaker.
U.S. civil rights defenders on Monday condemned the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in Illinois, an alleged hate crime that occurred amid Israel's massive bombardment of Gaza and the incendiary dehumanization of Palestinians in countries including Israel and the United States.
The Will County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) said on Facebook that Wadea Al Fayoume was stabbed 26 times Saturday by his family’s landlord, 71-year-old Joseph Czuba, in Plainfield Township, Illinois, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago. According to WCSO, Czuba used a "12-inch serrated military-style knife that has a seven-inch blade."
Hanaan Shahin, the slain boy's 32-year-old mother, was also stabbed more than a dozen times, WCSO said, adding that she is "recovering from her injuries at a local area hospital and is expected to survive this brutal attack."
WCSO said that "Czuba was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, hate crime... and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon."
"Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis," the department added, referring to the surprise October 7 attack on Israel by Gaza-based militants that left over 1,400 Israeli civilians and soldiers dead and Israel's massive bombardment of Gaza that has killed nearly 3,000 Palestinians.
The FBI is also investigating the killing as a hate crime.
Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who attended Al Fayoume's funeral Monday, said in a statement that "to take a 6-year-old child’s life in the name of bigotry is nothing short of evil."
"Every single Illinoisan—including our Muslim, Jewish, and Palestinian neighbors—deserves to live free from the threat of such evil," he added.
U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden also condemned the attack:
This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are.
As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred. I have said repeatedly that I will not be silent in the face of hate. We must be unequivocal. There is no place in America for hate against anyone.
At a Sunday news conference, Illinois State Assemblyman Abdelnasser Rashid (D-21)—who is Palestinian American—said: "Let's be clear. This was directly connected to the dehumanizing of Palestinians that has been allowed over the last week by our media, by our elected officials who have lacked the moral compass and lacked the courage to call for something as simple as de-escalation and peace."
"Let's not sugar-coat it," Rashid wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "this hate crime is a result of the dehumanizing, one-sided media coverage of Palestinians and irresponsible statements from elected officials."
"Israeli spokespeople have been using genocidal language about Palestinians on news channels every day for the past week," he added. "The Israeli military has killed over 2,600 Palestinians in the last week, including more than 700 children, and the numbers increase by the hour."
By Monday the death toll in Gaza approached 3,000, more than 1,000 of whom are children. That's the most Palestinians ever killed by Israeli forces during a war on Gaza. At least 47 entire Palestinian families have been wiped out.
Responding to Al Fayoume's murder, NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement that "once again, the proliferation of misinformation and hateful conspiracy theories has resulted in a life lost far too soon."
"Today, the NAACP grieves the loss of 6-year-old Wadea Al Fayoume. No one should face the threat of violence in their own home, and we must do everything in our power to stop hate wherever it rears its ugly head," Johnson added. "There is no place for hate in a democracy."
Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said that "we have testimony from the mother as to the harrowing moments that unfolded in terms of what was done and said—and it is our worst nightmare."
"We have full confidence in the authorities to investigate this heinous incident as a hate crime and to do so swiftly," Rehab added.
"The Islamophobic rhetoric and anti-Palestinian racism being spread by politicians, media outlets, and social media platforms must stop," CAIR national said in a statement.
On Monday, the FBI released its annual hate crime statistics. According to the bureau, antisemitic offenses rose 25% percent from 2021 to 2022, accounting for more than half of all reported religion-based hate crimes. Hate crimes targeting Latino people soared nearly one-third. Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes increased 16%, while Muslim and Black Americans continued to be disproportionately affected.
Illinois Supreme Court Upholds Assault Weapons Ban Passed After Highland Park Shooting
"This is a significant victory for the movement for gun safety and getting semiautomatic rifles off our streets," said Parkland survivor and March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg.
Gun control advocates and Illinois leaders on Friday celebrated the state Supreme Court upholding the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which banned the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines after a 2022 massacre at an Independence Day parade in the Chicago suburbs.
"Weapons and accessories designed for the battlefield shouldn't have a place in our communities," declared Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and public policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. "Communities across Illinois cannot afford another tragedy like Highland Park to occur and today's decision by the Illinois Supreme Court ensures that we can keep these deadly weapons of war off our streets."
March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg—who survived the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida—said that "this is a significant victory for the movement for gun safety and getting semi-automatic rifles off our streets."
As The Associated Pressdetailed: "The law bans dozens of specific brands or types of rifles and handguns, .50-caliber guns, attachments, and rapid-firing devices. No rifle is allowed to accommodate more than 10 rounds, with a 15-round limit for handguns. The most popular gun targeted is the AR-15 rifle."
Overturning a lower court's ruling, the justices found the law does not violate the equal protection or special legislation clauses of the Illinois Constitution. They also found that "plaintiffs expressly waived in the circuit court any independent claim that the restrictions impermissibly infringe" on the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The decision came in a case brought by state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-101), "part of a flurry of challenges to the constitutionality of the ban," as the Chicago Sun-Timesexplained. "Some of those challenges are still being fought in federal court."
The newspaper also noted that billionaire Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker "tapped his wealth last year to help boost two Democratic state Supreme Court justices who helped seal the majority Friday, as they did last month in upholding another key progressive measure backed by the billionaire governor: a provision promising to end cash bail next month."
Pritzker said Friday he was "pleased" with the court's 4-3 decision and that the contested measure, which he signed in January, "is a commonsense gun reform law to keep mass-killing machines off of our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks, and places of worship."
"Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in every corner of our state—whether they are attending a Fourth of July Parade or heading to work—and that's precisely what the Protect Illinois Communities Act accomplishes," he added. "This decision is a win for advocates, survivors, and families alike because it preserves this nation-leading legislation to combat gun violence and save countless lives."
The Highland Park shooting—in which seven people were killed and dozens more were injured—provoked calls for stricter state and federal gun laws. The suspect, Robert Crimo III, has been charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder, and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
"For years, moms, students, survivors of gun violence, and other community safety advocates fought hard to pass comprehensive gun safety legislation in Illinois," Moms Demand Action executive director Angela Ferrell-Zabala said Friday. "Today's decision by the Illinois Supreme Court is an incredible victory for our dedicated volunteers who were relentless in their advocacy to pass this lifesaving legislation, especially in the aftermath of the tragedy in Highland Park."
Sheri Williams, who co-leads the Illinois chapter of Moms Demand Action, also stressed that the law was the result of "tireless advocacy" by her group and Students Demand Action. Friday's ruling, she said, "put public safety over the gun lobby's agenda, and our families will all be safer because of it."
This post has been updated with additional details about the ruling.