Federal Appeals Court Upholds Illinois Ban on ‘Assault Weapons’

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a plaintiff in the case, plans to seek Supreme Court review.

A MCK pistol brace for a handgun is displayed with firearm accessories for sale at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Calif., on June 5, 2021. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

A federal appeals court on July 9 upheld Illinois’s ban on the sale and possession of “assault weapons” and large capacity magazines, overturning a lower court ruling that had blocked enforcement of the law.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Protect Illinois Communities Act into law in January 2023 after a gunman killed seven people in a 2022 shooting during an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago. A federal judge overturned the law in 2024, finding it violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms, but the injunction was later stayed after the state appealed.

In a 2–1 decision on July 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit concluded that the state’s ban is “consistent with the principles that underpin our nation’s tradition of firearm regulation.”

“In short, legislatures have long imposed restrictions on particularly dangerous weapons, and the Act is but another chapter in that story,” the order stated.

The appeals court said that semiautomatic rifles are rarely used for self-defense, citing an analysis that found handguns accounted for the majority of defensive gun uses.

Circuit Judge Michael Brennan dissented, saying the Illinois law contradicts the nation’s regulatory traditions that “forbid governments from prohibiting firearms commonly owned for self-defense.”

“Because the people have overwhelmingly chosen the AR-15 rifle and its magazine as their weapon of choice, they are protected by the Second Amendment,” the judge stated.

In a social media post, Pritzker called the ruling “a victory in the fight to end gun violence.” The governor said the state will continue enforcing its ban on “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a plaintiff in the case, said the appeals court erred in its ruling on modern sporting rifles (MSRs) and planned to seek the Supreme Court’s review.

“There are more than 32 million MSRs in circulation today, making these semiautomatic, centerfire rifles commonly owned and commonly used by nearly every standard.

“Likewise, there are hundreds of millions of standard-capacity magazines owned by law-abiding Americans in the United States,” the firearms industry trade association said in a statement.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act criminalizes the sale and purchase of certain types of semiautomatic rifles and large capacity of ammunition.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement that the weapons ban was intended to protect public safety.

“This is a win that enhances public safety in Illinois,” he said. “We have seen the damage that assault weapons and large-capacity magazines can inflict, and these weapons of war have no place in our communities.”

The Supreme Court said last month that it will consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles, often called “assault weapons,” violate the Second Amendment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.