More than 1,000 plaintiffs signed on to a lawsuit filed late Monday night that challenges Illinois’s ban on
high-powered guns
and high-capacity magazines.
Thomas DeVore, a defeated
Illinois
Republican candidate for attorney general, along with former GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey, a state senator, and 70 firearms dealers, filed the suit, which argues the new law violates a state constitutional requirement that legislation must be confined to a single subject.
ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE PASSES ASSAULT-STYLE WEAPONS BAN
Democratic lawmakers used a bill about insurance and overwrote it with the weapons ban in the final days of the General Assembly’s session this month, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“Gun violence is an epidemic that is plaguing every corner of this state and the people of Illinois are demanding substantive action,” Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Welch, Senate President Don Harmon, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a joint statement. “With this legislation, we are delivering on the promises Democrats have made, and together, we are making Illinois’ gun laws a model for the nation.”
Pritzker, a Democrat, signed the bill into law on Jan. 10.
Since then, several lawsuits challenging the gun ban have been filed, including an earlier one from DeVore that argued the ban violated the state constitution’s due process and equal protection clauses.
Last week, Judge Joshua Morrison temporarily blocked the enforcement of the gun ban on 850 people as well as some firearms dealers listed as plaintiffs in the case. A hearing is set for Feb. 1.
“The Court finds the plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success in relation to the equal protection clause of the Illinois Constitution,” Morrison wrote, adding that he found a “lack of procedural compliance” by lawmakers and also citing violations of the “single subject” and “three readings” rules of the Illinois Constitution.
“The Democrats that control our legislature, they know that they’ve completely abandoned the procedural requirements of how legislation is supposed to be passed,” DeVore said.
Morrison also found that the assault weapons ban violated equal protection requirements because lawmakers carved out exceptions for police officers and active-duty military.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Both lawsuits named Pritzker, Welch, Harmon, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul as defendants.
Raoul won his reelection bid in November against DeVore, while Pritzker won his race against Bailey.
