Sadly for law-abiding gun owners in Illinois, the U.S. Supreme Court will not be stepping in regarding a challenge to an insane new law that bans certain types of firearms in the state.
According to NBC News, last week, the high court declined to take up a case challenging the law, which came as a major disappointment given the conservative majority makeup of the current Supreme Court bench.
The high court's decision to not take up the challenge means that the law will remain in effect.
However, litigation concerning the law continues to play out in the lower courts and many court observers believe it will eventually wind its way back to the Supreme Court before it's all said and done.
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a dissenting opinion on the high court's decision to not hear the case.
He wants more specifics on what types of firearms can be restricted by the state, saying an appeals court decision to uphold the Illinois ban "illustrates why this court must provide more guidance on which weapons the Second Amendment covers."
NBC News noted:
The announcement, coming soon after the court declined to hear a similar case from Maryland, suggests the court is not eager to weigh in on what has become a recurring issue: whether such bans violate the Second Amendment, which the court expanded in a 2022 gun rights ruling.
The Illinois weapons ban is a typical liberal, anti-gun "assault weapons ban." It bans popular sporting firearms like the AR-15. It also bans "large-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition for long guns or more than 15 rounds of ammunition for handguns."
It was noted that the law doesn't affect people who already owned such firearms and accessories before the law took effect, and it also doesn't ban handguns.
Justifiably, many gun and Second Amendment advocacy groups sued after the law went into effect, arguing that it's a clear violation of residents' Second Amendment rights.
The high court also declined to hear a high-profile, similar case out of Maryland that also bans "assault weapons."
NBC News noted:
In May of last year, the Supreme Court declined to block the new restrictions. It also declined to block similar restrictions enacted in New York, suggesting no great eagerness among the justices to jump in on the issue.
The law continues to be challenged in multiple lower courts in the state of Illinois and other states where similar laws were enacted.
Hopefully, they all end up back at the high court sooner than later, where the U.S. Constitution will prevail.
