Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett requested a further response from an Illinois locality after gun rights advocates sued over a recently passed ban on certain firearms.
The gun rights advocates are challenging a city ordinance passed last year by Naperville, Illinois, which is similar to an Illinois state law enacted this year barring the sale and possession of certain semi-automatic rifles and magazines. Barrett, who handles appeals stemming from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, asked for Naperville officials to respond by noon on May 8.
JUDGE BLOCKS ENFORCEMENT OF ILLINOIS'S 'ASSAULT WEAPONS' BAN
The National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR), in conjunction with the National Foundation for Gun Rights (NFGR), says the law conflicts with the high court's NYSRPA v. Bruen decision last year, which ruled gun laws must align with constitutional text and history.
"We’re thankful the Supreme Court is taking the Second Amendment rights of Illinoisans seriously," Dudley Brown, President of NAGR, told the Washington Examiner. "Any ban on so-called ‘assault weapons’ is plainly unconstitutional, and now it is on the city of Naperville to explain the legal justification for their ban. Of course, there isn’t any. The bans were ludicrous from the start, and if Illinois had any sense, they would wave the white flag now and save us all some time."
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Since handing down the Bruen decision last year, the high court so far has not taken up another Second Amendment dispute. However, the Bruen decision made waves across lower courts, leading to 31 successful claims against previously existing gun restrictions across various states with gun control laws.
The Supreme Court in January declined to intervene in an emergency dispute over a law in New York that places restrictions on carrying concealed firearms, with the justices allowing the law to remain in place while the lower court challenges progress.