A federal appeals court upheld an Illinois law Friday that banned so-called assault weapons, The Hill reported. The law was passed after last year's shooting at a Highland Park, Illinois, Fourth of July parade.
The law was a knee-jerk reaction to a tragedy that killed seven and injured dozens of others. Six separate lawsuits challenged the law on the grounds that the ban illegally restricted the Constitutional right to bear arms.
The challenge was based on last year's decision of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which overturned the Empire State's draconian gun control laws. Plaintiffs challenging the Illinois case cited the reasoning used in Bruen, suggesting that weapons in "common use" shouldn't be outlawed by state law.
During proceedings, Judge Diane Woods called it "very troublesome to have a popularity contest decide a constitutional principle." She ultimately ruled in favor of upholding the law and considered it a reasonable restriction of the Second Amendment.
"Government may punish a deliberately false fire alarm; it may condition free assembly on the issuance of a permit; it may require voters to present a valid identification card; and it may punish child abuse even if it is done in the name of religion. The right enshrined in the Second Amendment is no different," Wood wrote.
Before making it to Wood's courtroom, the law eked by in the state Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to take the case, however.
Gun control advocates and their political allies rejoiced over Woods' decision, of course. Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who signed the law in January, praised the "commonsense law" that strips law-abiding citizens of their right to bear arms.
"Despite constant attacks by the gun lobby that puts ideology over people’s lives, here in Illinois, we have stood up and said ‘no more’ to weapons of war on our streets. This is a victory for the members of the General Assembly who stood alongside families, students, and survivors who worked so hard to make this day a reality," Pritzker claimed.
"Now Congress must act so Illinois is not an island surrounded by states with weak protections," the governor added. Pritzker's narrative flies in the face of facts, unfortunately.
When the inciting incident happened at the parade last year, Highland Park already had some of the strictest laws in the country, Fox News reported. In 2013, Highland Park banned "assault rifles," including AK47s and AR15s, and yet the July 4th shooting still occurred, thus proving that more laws do not stop these shootings.
Just 30 miles away in Chicago, which is infamous for its control laws, experienced a deadly holiday weekend that year as well. At least ten died and 62 were injured in the crime-ridden city despite its laws.
The Windy City already has a ban on "assault weapons," which includes "any weapon that shoots… automatically, more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger." The ban also includes "ghost guns" that are do-it-yourself assembled, as well as a Cook County ban on magazines with large capacity.
The city even had a ban on all handguns on the books since 1982 that was struck down in 2010. Still, gun violence rages out of control and people continue to die.
These politicians use emotion to literally and figuratively disarm anyone who opposes gun control laws. However, the facts speak for themselves as law-abiding citizens under attack from these laws aren't the people committing the illegal violence in the first place.
