BELLEVUE, WA – An Illinois judge has issued a permanent injunction against the Village of Deerfield, Illinois prohibiting that jurisdiction from banning so-called “assault weapons” and thus granting a victory to the Second Amendment Foundation, which sued the town in 2018 over the ban.
SAF was joined by the Illinois State Rifle Association and Deerfield resident Daniel Easterday, a lawful firearms owner. They were represented by Glen Ellyn attorney David Sigale.
“We are delighted with the judge’s decision, which we hope sends a message to other municipal governments that they can’t try to sneak around the state’s preemption statute in an effort to ban legal firearms ownership,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Last year, we were granted a temporary injunction by the circuit court, and this order making it permanent simply solidifies our position.”
The village council had adopted the ban, claiming it was an amendment to an ordinance that was adopted a few years ago that was designed to “regulate” firearms after the state passed its preemption statute in 2013. At the time, Gottlieb said that the village was trying to disguise its anti-gun extremism as an amendment. But the court was not swayed by that defense. Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Judge Luis A. Berrones signed the order.
The gun ban ordinance contained language that would have allowed confiscation and destruction of so-called “assault weapons” and their original capacity magazines, and levy fines of up to $1,000 a day against anyone who refused to surrender their guns.
“This is the kind of legislative extremism has no place on American soil,” Gottlieb observed. “The Deerfield Village Board tried to pull a fast one and the court stopped them. It’s just one more example of how the Second Amendment Foundation is winning firearms freedom, one lawsuit at a time.”