The US supreme court has refused to overturn an Illinois ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition, which was passed following the deadly mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, in 2022.
The court rejected the request, made by a gun shop and a national gun rights group in an appeal of a lower court’s decision not to allow a preliminary injunction to block the law.
A previous injunction request was also denied by the supreme court in May 2023. As is customary, the justices did not comment on their denial of the injunction.
The latest request came from a firearms retailer owned by Robert Bevis in Naperville and the National Association for Gun Rights.
In November 2023, a US appeals court upheld the Illinois assault weapons ban, rejecting appeals that challenged the law by claiming it violated the second amendment of the US constitution.
The law goes into effect on 1 January. Signed in January 2023 by the governor, JB Pritzker, the Protect Illinois Communities Act bans the sale of many types of semiautomatic assault weapons, including AK-47s and AR-15 rifles, and magazines with more than 10 rounds for rifles and more than 15 rounds for handguns. The state’s supreme court upheld the law in August 2023.
At least eight other states and Washington DC have enacted similar bans on semiautomatic weapons. Gun rights advocates have been challenging these laws through the federal courts. They have been relying on a supreme court decision in 2022 that expanded gun rights by striking down a New York gun law requiring people to demonstrate a specific need for a concealed carry license.
Illinois passed the ban following the Highland Park mass shooting during a Fourth of July parade in 2022 where a man killed seven people and wounded more than 30 people. The shooter was able to purchase several guns, including an AR-15 style type rifle, despite previous run-ins with police.
