We recently discussed a federal judge enjoining the new Illinois law banning “assault weapons.” Now a gun shop in Naperville, Illinois has made it to the Supreme Court in seeking injunctive relief and Justice Amy Coney Barrett has given the proponents of the law until Monday to respond to the request.
On Tuesday afternoon, Barrett issued the order to the city of Naperville in Illinois after Robert Bevis, owner of Law Weapons & Supply, challenged two bans. First, he is challenging the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) that was the subject of the earlier injunction. Second, he is challenging a separate Naperville city ban that he says is destroying his business.
Here is the question in Bevis v. Naperville and the State of Illinois, No. 22A948:
Can the government ban the sale, purchase, and possession of certain semi-automatic firearms and firearm magazines tens of millions of which are possessed by law-abiding American for lawful purposes when there is no analogous historical ban as required in D.C. v. Heller (2008)…and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022).
When Barrett was up for confirmation, I noted that the Second Amendment could prove one of her most interesting legacy areas of jurisprudence. Her dissent in Kanter v. Barr as an appellate judge was a powerful defense of Second Amendment rights. Rickey Kanter was convicted of one count of felony mail fraud for defrauding Medicare in connection with therapeutic shoe inserts. Focusing on the “history and tradition” of such restrictions, Barrett also took on the voting rights and jury service point with a key distinction:
“The problem with this argument is that virtue exclusions are associated with civic rights—individual rights that “require[ ] citizens to act in a collective manner for distinctly public purposes.” See Saul Cornell, A New Paradigm for the Second Amendment , 22 LAW & HIST. REV. 161, 165 (2004). For example, the right to vote is held by individuals, but they do not exercise it solely for their own sake; rather, they cast votes as part of the collective enterprise of self-governance. Similarly, individuals do not serve on juries for their own sake, but as part of the collective enterprise of administering justice…
Heller , however, expressly rejects the argument that the Second Amendment protects a purely civic right. Moore v. Madigan , 702 F.3d 933, 935 (7th Cir. 2012). It squarely holds that “the Second Amendment confer[s] an individual right to keep and bear arms,” Heller , 554 U.S. at 595, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (emphasis added), and it emphasizes that the Second Amendment is rooted in the individual’s right to defend himself—not in his right to serve in a well-regulated militia, id. at 582–86, 128 S.Ct. 2783.”
In this case, we are dealing with a direct ban on certain weapons that are loosely characterized as “assault weapons.”
I have previously raised doubts over some of these laws, which are based on questionable factual claims and distinctions between weapons. Indeed, President Biden has made dubious constitutional and historical claims about the Second Amendment and AR-15s.
Illinois and New York have previously supplied gun rights advocates with huge victories by drafting facially unconstitutional laws. Moderate efforts at gun control are often ramped up in the legislative process to become more and more sweeping.
This is a standard response to such an emergency filing. Yet, these cases are now bubbling up to the Court from various states and it seems increasingly likely that the Court may be inching toward a new review of Second Amendment claims. However, the Court often prefers to wait for a conflict in the circuits to allow lower courts to be heard on such laws.
Where were all these NRA AR 12 2nd Amendment types when BLM, ANTIFA were rioting and burning down the towns, cities of Portland OR, Seattle Washington, Washington DC and our own BLM organized mass looting of the Mag Mile?
The only guy I’m aware of that took the streets and risked his body against these Antifa, BLM mobs and used an AR 15 was that young lad Jason R in Kenosha Wisconsin! Jason was being attacked by Antifa armed with and shooting Glocks!
I don’t remember much of any other NRA AR 15 GUNS GUNS GUNS doing anything about these riots, looting etc.
What’s the point of weapons, including rifles that aren’t used against violent Communist mobs? Plus a 12 gauge shot gun is more practical for home and business defense as opposed to Norman Bates type Psycho Trannies slaughtering Christian children in Nashville TN.
What is needed is some even one tough strong man like Napoleon, Philly Police chief/Mayor Frank Rizzo with the guts to fire in to the mob.
Sitting home watching Rambo III and Red Dawn and stroking one’s AR 15 and stroking some other things, that ain’t helping Western Civilziation in these bad election years.
JR
Left Behind in Chicago
Why is it your business if someone else has a weapon?
Gun shootings &deaths yesterday:
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/last-72-hours
David, when scanning annual gun death mass shootings, though there were bumps, the consistent rise seemed to happen during the Obama administration. Such an impression needs refinement but what I saw is consistent with leftists violent behavior and economic factors.
“Care to not speak entirely in unsupported politically biased platitudes, Allan. One can only hope, I suppose.”
Anonymous, why not look at the data, numerical and other, yourself instead of making ignorant statements? Use your deflated basketballs as an abacus.
“As to your tired ‘basketball’ insult…, you do realize it’s foundations are racist in origin, no?”
Bug, the origin of the deflated basketballs was you and your deflated basketballs. There is no racism there except what is in your mind.
Go back to your locker room and play with your deflated basketballs while learning new four-letter words.
Gun deaths and mass shootings occur sporadically in the nation and a more concentrated form in Democrat-run cities.
Bug, you provided research from Pew. The post was deleted, but next time read what you link to.
Take note:
54% of all gun-related deaths in the U.S. were suicides
More Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2021 than in any other year on record
(should we thank Joe Biden?)
handguns were involved in 59% of the 13,620 U.S. gun murders and non-negligent manslaughters
So the shooters should be prosecuted?
https://phys.org/news/2023-05-opinion-ai-justice-humans-loop.html
Can JT be replaced by a chatBot?
Sooner or later (likely sooner) we’ll all be replaced by chatBots.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/05/serbia-eight-killed-in-second-mass-shooting-in-days-with-attacker-on-the-run
Used automatic weapon.
And not in the US.
People convicted of murder due to running someone down, while fleeing the cops, with a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit, are allowed to legally own all the cars they want, even if they are prohibited from driving them on public roads. They can even drive them on private property that they own or with the owner’s consent.
If guns were regulated by cars, people convicted of murder due to committing a drive-by shooting would not be prohibited from owning or possessing all the guns they want at home or on private property with the owner’s consent.