(Archyde.com)
An Illinois judge on Friday temporarily blocked the state’s newly imposed ban on several semi-automatic weapons, a move lawmakers rushed to pass after a gunman killed seven people and wounded dozens with an AR-15 during a parade near Chicago on Independence Day in Fourth of July.
Judge Joshua Morrison sided with hundreds of plaintiffs who have challenged the law on the grounds that unconstitutional legislative measures were used to win passage in the Democratic-controlled state’s General Assembly.
The ban was passed by the state legislature earlier this month and signed into law by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who urged approval in the wake of last year’s Independence Day massacre in Highland Park and other mass shootings across the country.
Pritzker issued a statement on Friday saying he was not surprised by the ruling but was confident the law would eventually prevail after judicial review.
“Although disappointing, this is the initial outcome we have seen in many cases brought by plaintiffs whose aim is to promote ideology at the expense of public safety,” he said.