A federal judge in Illinois has overturned the state's ban on semiautomatic weapons, citing recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that uphold the Second Amendment right to bear arms. U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn issued a comprehensive ruling that applies universally, not just to the plaintiffs who challenged the ban.
The ban, known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act, was signed into law in January 2023 by Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker and went into effect on January 1. It prohibited AR-15 rifles, large-capacity magazines, and various firearm attachments in response to a shooting incident at a parade in Highland Park in 2022.
