Illinois was granted a major win after a downstate judge issued a temporary restraining order to put a "pause" on a new law that bans many assault weapons in the state.
In an 11-page ruling, Effingham County Judge Joshua Morrison said he found a "lack of procedural compliance" by lawmakers, including violations of the "single subject" and "three readings" rules of the Illinois Constitution.
The comes after former Republican candidate for attorney general Tom DeVore sued to block the law, calling it an “outright attack on the constitutional rights of lawful gun owners across the state."
“The Democrats that control our legislature, they know that they've completely abandoned the procedural requirements of how legislation is supposed to be passed," DeVore said.
However, the ban only applies to four federal firearm license dealers and 862 Illinois citizens from dozens of counties who signed on as plaintiffs.
Continued in his ruling, Morrison said that his decision comes in an effort to protect Illinois citizen’s Second Amendment rights.
“Plaintiffs are being immediately and irreparably harmed each day in which their fundamental right to bear arms is being denied,” DeVore said.
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Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who signed the law on January 10, defended his legislation, vowing to appeal the judge’s ban.
“We are well aware that this is only the first step in defending this important legislation," Pritzker said. "I remain confident that the courts will uphold the constitutionality of Illinois' law, which aligns with the eight other states with similar laws and was written in collaboration with lawmakers, advocates, and legal experts."
Morrison also argued that Pritzker rushed the bill to be passed, failing to consider the effects.
“Due to the speed with which this bill was passed, the effect to protected classes could not have been considered, nor could the Legislature have studied if this was the least restrictive way to meet their goal,” Morrison wrote.
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