PICA Assault Weapons Ban Litigation 3rd Update
What’s Happening With PICA
Our lawsuit against the Illinois “Assault Weapons” ban (PICA) was heard the week of September 16 by Judge Steven McGlynn in the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. It went very well.
Final briefs from the opposing sides are due Monday October 21st, and we anticipate a decision by Judge McGlynn in our favor by mid November.
We came loaded for bear, with expert witnesses to address both the Supreme Court’s standard of “in common use” as well as the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (CA7) (Easterbrook/Wood) invention of a new standard on “Looks like a military weapon.”
The State punted, with only three weak and flawed witnesses, one of whom in the past has held that a single 5.56 round can decapitate or remove limbs from a human being. It was a low-effort outing by the State, we think signaling that they expect to lose.
Judge McGlynn, who granted our motion for a preliminary injunction last year (Freedom Week), closed with a poignant comment on the 1917 race riots in his home town of East St. Louis, where this trial was heard.
Black citizens were terrorized, their homes burned, and as many as 150 were murdered. He suggested that perhaps these Americans would have fared better had they been armed with an effective defensive weapon like an AR-15 rifle. He implored all present in the courtroom to visit the Sacred Sites in East St. Louis related to those riots.
He obviously gets the point of self defense and choosing the right tool to lawfully defend one’s self and family.
So we expect a decision by Thanksgiving, and we expect to win. What will happen then?
Judge McGlynn will issue a Permanent Injunction, barring the State from enforcing this Act forever. The State will likely request an Emergency Stay of McGlynn’s order, and they will probably get it. Meaning no freedom week this time :(
The State then appeals to Easterbrook’s panel on CA7, who ruled against us before. Easterbrook left the door open though for being convinced that his “kissing cousins to military arms” test is stupid. And we did just that in District Court, so all hope is not lost for a victory in CA7. In any case, they should publish their orders and opinions in this case by April or May of 2025.
If we win, the State may or may not appeal to the Supreme Court.
They might not because they don’t want to be the test case that strikes down all so-called “Assault Weapons” bans nationwide.
If the State wins, which is more likely, we will appeal to the Supreme Court or seek a hearing by the full 7th Circuit.
Either way, if the case is destined for the Supreme Court, we would petition for a hearing there in the 2025-2026 term, with a victory in June 2026.
The Maryland “Assault Weapons” ban (Snope v. Brown) plaintiffs have petitioned the court for hearing this term; the State has attempted to delay this decision with extensions, no more of which will be forthcoming. If this case is heard, our case before CA7 will probably be held pending a decision by the Supreme Court with a victory in June of 2026.
Will there be another “Freedom Week” window to purchase a banned item?
We think not, though we hope we’re wrong. Since Illinois has a 72 hour waiting period, it is unlikely that unless McGlynn issues his decision in our favor in the afternoon before Thanksgiving, there would likely not be enough time to complete a sale before the State wins their temporary stay in CA7. There are internet gun law “experts” saying you can start the sale in early November and get a background check that is good for 30 days, completing the sale after McGlynn’s decision and before the State’s stay. We don’t think this is legally possible and will not be conducting business this way. The Act forbids buying, selling, manufacturing, and transferring banned items. Risking a violation of the law when we are so close to ultimate victory doesn’t make sense to us.
Thank you for your support. This is an effort that consumes vast amounts of time and money, and whatever you can do to support us financially is very important to keeping the pressure on.
How can you help us continue this fight?
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