Trump’s DOJ Argues Illinois’ Ban on ‘Assault Weapons’ is Unconstitutional Under the Second Amendment

AWB assault weapons ban AR-15 — *Bigstock*

Three years ago, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision meant to break a habit developed by some States of treating the Second Amendment as “a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other” constitutional rights. New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen.

Regrettably, not every State got the message. Just a few months after Bruen, Illinois outlawed some of the most commonly used rifles and magazines in America via a so-called “assault weapons” ban. In doing so, Illinois violated the Supreme Court’s clear directive that States cannot prohibit arms that are “in common use” by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes.

In an earlier appeal reviewing a preliminary injunction against the Protect Illinois Communities Act (“the Act”), this Court held that the Act was likely constitutional and reversed. But this Court made it crystal clear that its opinion was “just a preliminary look at the subject.” Id. at 1197. Now after final judgment, there are three very good reasons why this Court should reverse course and affirm the district court’s injunction.

First, as explained below, key aspects of Bevis’s analysis are wrong, even judged against the Supreme Court’s Second Amendment caselaw that existed at the time. Second, multiple Supreme Court Justices (including Bruen’s author) have since made it clear that they disagree with Bevis and other recent lower-court opinions, and that the Court is likely to grant certiorari “in the next Term or two” to address the errors in those opinions. Third, after this Court’s decision in Bevis, the district court held a multi-day bench trial, heard significant evidence regarding the issues in this case, and made factual findings that show that the Act violates the Second Amendment as applied to semiautomatic firearms and attachments that are in common use by law-abiding citizens for lawful reasons.

— US Department of Justice Filing in Barnett v. Raoul