The Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the state's ban on the sale or possession of the type of semi-automatic weapons used in hundreds of mass killings nationally.
In a 4-3 decision Friday, the high court found that the Protect Our Communities Act does not violate the federal Constitution's guarantee of equal protection of the law nor the state constitution's bar on special legislation.
The Second Amendment claim is alive, however, in several federal lawsuits filed in southern Illinois, later consolidated and awaiting appeals court action. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Protect Our Communities Act hours after lawmakers sent it to him in a lame-duck session in January, months after a shooter using a high-powered rifle killed seven and injured dozens on Independence Day 2022 in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. The new law set off a firestorm of criticism from gun-rights advocates, including county sheriffs who were nearly unanimous in signing a statement that they would not zealously enforce the law.
The lawsuit alleges the law was unequally applied because anyone who had a semi-automatic weapon on the date the law took effect could keep it, although they're restricted in selling or transferring such weapons. They must register their guns with the Illinois State Police by Jan. 1, 2024.
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