Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Struck Down by Federal Judge

The state of Illinois’ assault weapons ban is unconstitutional, a federal district court judge ruled Friday, finding that restrictions on AR-style rifles and other weapons are prohibited by the Second and Fourteenth amendments.

Judge Stephen McGlynn of the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois struck down the state’s Protect Illinois Communities Act, which banned the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in the wake of a deadly shooting at a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Ill.

“While the Court is sympathetic to those who have lost loved ones to gun violence, such tragedies are not ...