Barnett v. Raoul – Do It For The Caselaw

Holding: The Seventh Circuit held that the Illinois Act's restrictions on AR-15s and thirty-round rifle magazines are consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation and do not violate the Second Amendment.
Standard: Bruen step two
Vote: Panel Decision
Practical effect: The reversal allows the State of Illinois to enforce the Protect Illinois Communities Act, including its bans on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, across the state.

The Seventh Circuit reversed a district court injunction that had blocked Illinois from enforcing its ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. The appellate court held that these restrictions are consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation under the Second Amendment.

Background

In 2023, Illinois enacted the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which criminalized the possession and sale of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. Plaintiffs challenged the law, and a district court issued a permanent injunction, finding the Act violated the Second Amendment. The Seventh Circuit had previously issued a preliminary injunction in a related case, Bevis v. City of Naperville, suggesting the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits. After a bench trial, the district court again ruled against the state, leading to this appeal.

The court’s reasoning

The court assumed for the purpose of this ruling that AR-15s and large-capacity magazines are protected arms under the Second Amendment’s plain text. It then proceeded to the second step of the Bruen framework, requiring the government to show the regulation is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition. The court found that historical laws regulating ‘dangerous and unusual’ weapons, such as nineteenth-century bans on Bowie knives, support the modern restrictions. The court emphasized that the Act targets weapons capable of unprecedented lethality and that the burden on self-defense is minimal given the rarity of using such weapons in defensive situations.

What it means going forward

The reversal allows the State of Illinois to enforce the Protect Illinois Communities Act, including its bans on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, across the state.