A federal judge in Illinois recently issued a permanent injunction against that state's "assault weapon" ban, deeming it inconsistent with the Second Amendment. The Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) "is an unconstitutional affront to the Second Amendment and must be enjoined," U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn wrote in Barnett v. Raoul, which combines several challenges to the law, on Friday. "The Government may not deprive law-abiding citizens of their guaranteed right to self-defense as a means of offense."
McGlynn imposed a 30-day stay on his injunction to allow an appeal that seems likely to succeed. Last year in Bevis v. City of Naperville, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction against PICA that McGlynn issued in April 2023. The 7th Circuit concluded that the state was likely to prevail in its defense of the law.
