SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday overturned Illinois’ ban on semiautomatic weapons, leaning on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that strictly interpret the Second Amendment right to keep and bear firearms.
U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn, of the Southern District of Illinois, issued a permanent injunction he said applies universally, not just to the lawsuit’s plaintiffs. He decided, however, that the injunction would not take effect for 30 days.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul responded speedily, filing a notice of appeal Friday evening.
The Protect Illinois Communities Act, signed into law in January 2023 by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, took effect Jan. 1. It bans AR-15 rifles and similar guns, large-capacity magazines and an assortment of attachments largely in response to the 2022 Independence Day shooting at a parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.
The opinion drew heavily from recent landmark Supreme Court rulings expanding on the definition of the Second Amendment's guarantees.
“Sadly, there are those who seek to usher in a sort of post-Constitution era where the citizens’ individual rights are only as important as they are convenient to a ruling class,” McGlynn wrote in his opinion. “The oft-quoted phrase that ‘no right is absolute’ does not mean that fundamental rights precariously subsist subject to the whims, caprice, or appetite of government officials or judges.”
Pritzker said he remained confident the law's supporters would prevail. Fellow Democrat Raoul filed a notice of appeal with U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit seeking reversal of the lower court’s order and a permanent injunction.
“Despite those who value weapons of war more than public safety, this law was enacted to and has protected Illinoisans from the constant fear of being gunned down in places where they ought to feel secure,” Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough said. “The governor is confident the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act will be upheld through” appeal.
The law, written by Democrats who hold supermajorities in the General Assembly, came six months after a lone gunman perched atop a building fired into the Highland Park parade with a weapon similar to an AR-15, killing seven people and injuring more than three dozen.
It drew immediate scorn, not only in the form of lawsuits from gun owners and advocates, but from scores of county sheriffs who said they refused to enforce what they considered an unconstitutional law.
McGlynn, who was appointed to his post in the Southern District of Illinois by President Donald Trump during his first term, drew closely on U.S. Supreme Court rulings from the past 15 years that have solidified and more recently expanded interpretation of the Second Amendment's guarantees.
He rejected state officials' argument that the Protect Illinois Communities Act withstood constitutional tests because it addresses a new phenomenon — mass killings — and new technology — semiautomatic guns.
“While mass shootings and firearm-related deaths are universally tragic and senseless, the government has not met its burden to prove that the history and tradition of firearm regulations supports PICA’s expansive sweep, covering hundreds of models of weapons, magazines, and attachments used by tens of millions of law-abiding United States citizens,” McGlynn wrote.
Erich Pratt, senior vice president of the Gun Owners of America, which represented one of the plaintiffs in the case, said of Pritzker and Illinois lawmakers, "We warned them to fall in line, but they chose to do the opposite.
“While this case took time, we are thrilled with the victory and for the citizens of Illinois,” Pratt said. "We the people deserve the right to decide how best to protect ourselves and our loved ones, not anti-gun tyrants.”
FILE - Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker hugs gun control advocate Maria Pike after he signed comprehensive legislation to ban military-style firearms on Jan. 10, 2023, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP, File)
FILE - Assault style weapons and hand guns are displayed for sale at Capitol City Arms Supply on Jan. 16, 2013, in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)
WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — The first conference championship celebration in Army history was underway at midfield and Bryson Daily made clear it would be a brief one.
The Black Knights are going after another trophy next week.
“Beat Navy,” Daily said.
He and the Black Knights ought to be a tough matchup for the Midshipmen — or just about anyone.
Daily rushed for four touchdowns to tie the American Athletic Conference championship game record, and No. 24 Army completed a perfect first season in the league by beating Tulane 35-14 on Friday night.
Kanye Udoh rushed for 158 yards, including a 72-yarder to set up a Daily TD, and a score. Daily added 126 yards on the ground for the Black Knights (11-1), who overwhelmed AAC opponents with their bruising, clock-eating rushing attack during their first around the league, then ran it to perfection in the championship game. Army won the first conference title in its 134-year history.
The Black Knights have one game left in the regular season and it's they one they want most: against Navy next Saturday for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
“Now we've got the biggest game of the year coming up in eight days and we’re looking forward to that,” Army coach Jeff Monken said.
Daily had runs of 5, 3, 4 and 7 yards. The 221-pound quarterback's four rushing scores gave him 29 this season, breaking the AAC record of 25 set by Navy QB Will Worth in 2016. The conference player of the year has rushed for multiple TDs in 10 consecutive games.
Except for an unsuccessful stint in Conference USA from 1998-2004, the Black Knights had played as an independent since their program began in 1890. Monken said this week that Army felt that it needed to be in a conference to have a pathway to college football's expanded postseason.
As cadets poured out of the stands to join players in a midfield celebration, the Black Knights must have been loving the decision.
Darian Mensah threw two touchdown passes for Tulane (9-4), which was playing in its third straight AAC championship game and has lost the last two. The Green Wave had hopes of hosting before losing at home to Memphis on Thanksgiving night, ending their 17-game winning streak in conference games.
They were even shakier Friday, botching field goal attempts after their first two drives, then fumbling a kickoff and having a pass intercepted in their own territory on the next two.
Then Tulane could barely get its hands on the ball in the second half, when Army had TD drives of 11 and 16 plays.
“When you start slow the way we did, missing two field goals early, you don’t do yourselves any favors,” Tulane coach Jon Sumrall said, “because once they get a lead, a couple scores, it’s really, really hard to overcome.”
A temperature of 29 degrees to begin just the third December game in the 101-season history of Michie Stadium demanded a strong running attack, and nobody does it better than Army, which came in leading the country with 312.5 rushing yards per game.
Army gained 335 on the ground and went 4 for 5 on fourth down.
Daily didn’t even attempt a pass until the second half — when he kept a scoring drive alive with a 9-yard completion on fourth-and-5.
The Green Wave were asked during the week about playing in the chilly conditions along the Hudson River, and the weather may have been a factor when Tulane attempted a field goal after a good first drive. Holder Brice Busch dropped the snap on the Army 27.
Army promptly went 72 yards in 11 plays for Daily’s 5-yard score. Tulane got inside the Army 20 again on its second drive but had to settle for another field goal attempt. The Green Wave handled the snap this time but Patrick Durkin’s kick was wide right from 38 yards.
Daily’s 4-yard run made it 21-0 before Tulane finally got on the board on Mensah’s 42-yard pass to Mario Williams with 44 seconds left in the half.
But Army regained control with a 6 1/2-minute drive to open the third quarter.
Tulane: The Green Wave will regret their untimely and uncharacteristically sloppy play to finish the regular season after never losing the turnover battle in any game until their last two.
Army: The Black Knights’ opponents know what’s coming and only current No. 4 Notre Dame, which routed Army at Yankee Stadium last month, has been able to stop it.
Tulane: The Green Wave fell out with the Memphis loss after going into the game ranked 18th and won’t get back in.
Army: The Black Knights will extend to a ninth straight week in the AP Top 25, their longest stretch since being ranked each week of the 1958 season.
Tulane: Awaits its bowl destination.
Army: Faces Navy next Saturday in Landover-Maryland.
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Army quarterback Bryson Daily (13) reacts after scoring a touchdown against Tulane during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Army running back Kanye Udoh (6) carries the ball for a first down against the Tulane during the second quarter of the American Athletic Conference championship NCAA college football game, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Tulane linebacker Sam Howard (15) grabs the face mask of Army quarterback Bryson Daily during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Army quarterback Bryson Daily (13) reacts after scoring a touchdown against Tulane during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
