SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- A federal appeals court on Friday upheld Illinois' prohibition on high-power semi-automatic weapons, refusing to put a hold on the law adopted in response to the mass killing of seven people at a 2022 parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.
A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 on the issue. The majority recognized a difference between firearms for personal use and those the state law reserves for "trained professionals" -- semi-automatic weapons including the popular AR-15.
"There is a long tradition, unchanged from the time when the Second Amendment was added to the Constitution, supporting a distinction between weapons and accessories designed for military or law-enforcement use and weapons designed for personal use," Judge Diane Wood said in the opinion. "The legislation now before us respects and relies on that distinction."
Ed Sullivan, a lobbyist for the Illinois State Rifle Association, said gun-rights advocates were not surprised by the decision, given the court's political makeup, though only one of the three judges was appointed by a Democratic president. Sullivan said it's likely that plaintiffs in one or more of the multiple cases consolidated in Friday's opinion would seek a U.S. Supreme Court review, where he predicted victory.
At least eight other states and the District of Columbia have some sort of prohibition on semi-automatic weapons.
The law, adopted by a lame-duck session of the Legislature in January, prohibits the possession, manufacture or sale of semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. It takes effect Jan. 1.
Known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act, it bans dozens of specific brands or types of rifles and handguns, .50-caliber guns, attachments and rapid-firing devices. No rifle will be allowed to accommodate more than 10 rounds, with a 15-round limit for handguns.
Those who own such guns and accessories when the law was enacted have to register them, including serial numbers, with the Illinois State Police. That process began Oct. 1.
The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the law on a 4-3 decision in August.
"The Protect Illinois Communities Act is a commonsense law that will keep Illinoisans safe," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement. "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."
Gun-rights advocates have argued that it's illogical to define sem-iautomatic guns as only suitable for the military. They say there are myriad reasons a homeowner would choose to protect family and property with an AR-15 as opposed to a handgun. And such semi-automatic weapons are the choice of many gun owners for sport shooting and hunting, they say.
Further, they note protections the U.S. Supreme Court issued in its June 2022 decision in a case known as Bruen for guns in "common use." The AR-15 is one, they say, given the millions in U.S. households today. But the court noted that the gun's popularity rocketed when the 10-year federal assault-weapon ban expired in 2004.
FILE - Assault weapons and hand guns are seen for sale at Capitol City Arms Supply on Jan. 16, 2013, in Springfield, Ill. The Illinois Supreme Court will issue an opinion on the state's ban on the sale or possession of semi-automatic weapons of the type used in the 2022 Independence Day shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park that killed seven and dozens of other mass shootings nationally. Rep. Dan Caulkins, a Decatur Republican, and other gun owners of Macon County filed the lawsuit contending the law not only violates the Second Amendment but equal protection of the laws because it exempts police and military from the ban. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)