Jonathan Turley 5/3/2023
Justice Barrett Gives Illinois Officials Until Monday to Respond to Challenge of “Assault Weapons” Ban
We recently discussed a federal judge enjoining the new Illinois law banning “assault weapons.” Now a gun shop in Naperville, Illinois has made it to the Supreme Court in seeking injunctive relief and Justice Amy Coney Barrett has given the proponents of the law until Monday to respond to the request.
On Tuesday afternoon, Barrett issued the order to the city of Naperville in Illinois after Robert Bevis, owner of Law Weapons & Supply, challenged two bans. First, he is challenging the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) that was the subject of the earlier injunction. Second, he is challenging a separate Naperville city ban that he says is destroying his business.
Here is the question in Bevis v. Naperville and the State of Illinois, No. 22A948:
Can the government ban the sale, purchase, and possession of certain semi-automatic firearms and firearm magazines tens of millions of which are possessed by law-abiding American for lawful purposes when there is no analogous historical ban as required in D.C. v. Heller (2008)…and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022).When Barrett was up for confirmation, I noted that the Second Amendment could prove one of her most interesting legacy areas of jurisprudence. Her dissent in Kanter v. Barr as an appellate judge was a powerful defense of Second Amendment rights. Rickey Kanter was convicted of one count of felony mail fraud for defrauding Medicare in connection with therapeutic shoe inserts. Focusing on the “history and tradition” of such restrictions, Barrett also took on the voting rights and jury service point with a key distinction:
More:
https://jonathanturley.org/2023/05/03/justice-barrett-gives-illinois-officials-until-monday-to-respond-to-challenge-of-assault-weapons-ban/
