Semiautomatic weapons ban upheld by Illinois Supreme Court

In a 4-3 ruling Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court voted to uphold the state's ban on semiautomatic weapons.

Earlier this year, the House voted 68-41 to approve the ban, and the Senate passed the legislation in a 34-20 vote. Hours after state lawmakers' approval in January, House Bill 5471 was signed into law by Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker, the Associated Press reported.

The "Protect Our Communities Act" prohibited the "manufacture, possession, delivery, sale, and purchase of assault weapons, .50 caliber rifles, and .50 caliber cartridges." It defined so-called assault weapons as semiautomatic rifles, banning dozens of specific brands and types of firearms. The legislation limited magazine capacity to 10 rounds for rifles and 15 for handguns.

Republican state Representative Dan Caulkins and gun owners filed a lawsuit against the ban, claiming it violated the equal protection clause of the Illinois Constitution.

The bill allowed gun owners already in possession of banned firearms to keep them, which Caulkins argued violated the requirement for the law to be applied equally.

The state Supreme Court ruled against Caulkins on Friday.

Justice Elizabeth Rochford wrote on behalf of the majority, "The equal protection clause guarantees that similarly situated individuals will be treated in a similar manner, unless the government can demonstrate an appropriate reason to treat those individuals differently."

"The equal protection clause does not forbid the Legislature from drawing distinctions in legislation among different categories of people as long as the Legislature does not draw those distinctions based on criteria wholly unrelated to the legislation's purpose," Rochford added.

According to the court, the Caulkins and the other plaintiffs waived their claim that the ban violated the Second Amendment and, therefore, could not argue it before the Supreme Court, the AP reported. However, Caulkins' attorney denied those claims.

Following the state Supreme Court's ruling, Pritzker released a statement.

"I am pleased that the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Commmunities Act," Pritzker said. "This is a commonsense gun reform law to keep mass-killing machines off of our streets and out of our schools, malls, parks, and places of worship."

"Illinoisans deserve to feel safe in every corner of our state," he added, claiming the legislation would accomplish that.

Caulkins' attorney anticipates further legal action. Additionally, the Illinois weapons ban still faces several federal lawsuits.

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