On January 10, 2023, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed HB 5471 into law. HB 5471 made it unlawful for any person in Illinois to manufacture, deliver, sell, import, purchase or possess commonly owned semi-automatic firearms that the Bill had categorized as an “assault weapon.” The Bill defined “assault weapons” to include semi-automatic rifles with the capacity to accept a detachable magazine coupled with which had any number of certain characteristics, such as a pistol grip, telescoping stock, flash suppressor, or threaded barrel, which are commonly possessed throughout the United States for lawful purposes. 

Additionally, the Bill made it a crime to manufacture, deliver, sell, purchase, or possess so-called “large capacity ammunition feeding devices.” Such devices were defined to include rifle magazines with a capacity of more than ten rounds of ammunition and handgun magazines with a capacity of more than fifteen rounds of ammunition.

HB 5471 violates the Second Amendment rights of the people of Illinois by denying them the ability to acquire arms and magazines that are in common use for lawful purposes. The Government cannot ban those arms simply because they do not like the features that they may possess, particularly since they are not dangerous and unusual, nor may they arbitrarily limit the number of rounds a magazine may hold. 

On January 17, 2023, a week after Governor Pritzker signed HB 5471, the Second Amendment Foundation filed suit, along with another civil rights organization, a state-based firearms advocacy group, two firearms retailers, and one individual. The lawsuit asks a federal court to ensure that the People of Illinois may exercise their Second Amendment rights by declaring that the bans violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments and enjoining the Defendants from enforcing the bans. 

To view documents filed on appeal, please visit the Court of Appeals docket.

Case Team: David Sigale

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