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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a case involving a law passed by Illinois’ Democrat majority banning so-called “assault weapons.”
Without dissent or explanation, the nation’s highest court ruled to allow the law to remain in effect for the time being while it is being litigated in lower courts. The Thursday ruling is in response to a filing by the National Association for Gun Rights, Fox News reported.
The ban, signed by Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in January, includes penalties for any individual who “carries or possesses… manufactures, sells, delivers, imports, or purchases any assault weapon or .50 caliber rifle.”
It also includes statutory penalties for anyone who “sells, manufactures, delivers, imports, possesses, or purchases any assault weapon attachment or .50 caliber cartridge.”
Fox News added: Any kit or tools used to increase the fire rate of a semiautomatic weapon are also included in the ban, and the law includes a limit for purchases of certain magazines. After Thursday’s ruling, the law will stay in place while it’s litigated in the lower courts.
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The gun rights group issued a statement following the high court’s decision.
“A right delayed is a right denied, and every day these gun bans are enforced is a travesty to freedom. We will be back to the Supreme Court as soon as our legal team finishes drafting our cert petition, and they will have to decide if they really meant what they said in Heller and Bruen,” Dudley Brown, the group’s president, said.
In August, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the law in a 4-3 decision. In November, a 7th District U.S. Court of Appeals panel also refused to block the ban, Fox News reported.
Anyone who possessed a now-banned weapon when the law was passed will be allowed to keep it so long as they register the weapon with the state ahead of the Jan. 1, 2024 deadline.
In September, Fox News host and personality Judge Jeanine Pirro blasted New Mexico’s Democratic governor for imposing a gun ban by executive fiat.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an emergency health order banning residents from concealed and open carry of firearms in certain jurisdictions for 30 days in response to several gun-related incidents and homicides, including young children.
Her move was immediately ripped as unconstitutional — by legal experts and politicians on the left and right — though she dismissed the criticism and said she expected and welcomed a court challenge.
“I don’t know what’s more shocking, this woman’s ignorance or her arrogance, and both come into play,” Pirro said Monday during a segment on Fox News’ popular “The Five” program.
“She is ignorant of the law in a country where she is the chief executive of the state. She is ignorant of her oath, which requires that she uphold the Constitution,” Pirro noted further.
“She is ignorant of the Supreme Court decisions that are fundamental to the Second Amendment,” Pirro continued. “The first being, what are we talking about, Bruen, the New York case, just said within the last two years, New Yorkers have the right to carry a firearm outside of their home when some nut governor like (Andrew) Cuomo tried to say you can’t bring them out of your home.
“And then Heller against D.C., the Supreme Court said it’s not just for a militia; you can use a gun for self-defense. And then McDonald against the city of Chicago, the 14th Amendment applies to an individual carrying a gun. Look, this is fundamental law in the United States,” Pirro explained further.
In June 2022, the Supreme Court struck down New York’s “good cause” prerequisite for pistol permits, a decision that sparked criticism from Democrats, many of whom then advocated for an expansion of the court in response to the 6-3 ruling in the case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.