NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, celebrated the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen P. McGlynn of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois striking down as unconstitutional the Illinois law that bans most semiautomatic firearms including Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs), certain models of semiautomatic handguns and standard capacity magazines. The decision is a significant victory for the millions of law-abiding gun owners and the firearm industry in Illinois.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law HB 5471, the “Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA),” in January 2023. HB 5741 is among the nation’s most expansive gun control laws and banned the sale of hundreds of models of rifles including commonly-owned MSRs, certain semiautomatic handguns and rifle magazines with a capacity greater than 10 cartridges and pistol magazines with a capacity greater than 15 cartridges.

NSSF, along with several co-plaintiffs, filed a legal challenge seeking to strike down this unconstitutional law and prevailed. Notably, in his decision Judge McGlynn wrote, “PICA is an unconstitutional affront to the Second Amendment and must be enjoined. The Government may not deprive law-abiding citizens of their guaranteed right to self-defense as a means of offense.” More specifically, the court held that MSRs and standard capacity magazines are in common use and have legitimate self-defense purposes.

“This decision handed down by Judge McGlynn is welcomed and what we in the firearm industry have known all along: commonly-owned firearms and standard capacity magazines are protected by law-abiding Americans under the Second Amendment,” stated Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “The U.S. Supreme Court has already recognized that semiautomatic rifles ‘traditionally have been widely accepted as lawful,’ and with over 28 million of these rifles in circulation today, they are clearly commonly-owned for lawful purposes, meeting the threshold set by the Supreme Court in its Heller decision. Semiautomatic handguns are overwhelmingly the choice of firearm for personal self-defense. This law was clearly unconstitutional and did nothing to punish criminals who choose to break the law. It only deprives law-abiding Americans from being able to exercise their full spectrum of Second Amendment rights.”

While the court struck down the law, it did stay its permanent injunction for 30 days to give the State the opportunity to appeal and seek an emergency stay from the Seventh Circuit, which means that the law temporarily stays in effect.

NSSF will continue to monitor.

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org.