Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Survives 5th, 14th Amendment Tests

Illinois gun owners had their Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment challenges to a new assault weapon ban tossed on Tuesday after a federal judge ruled the claims were insufficient to make it to trial.

The plaintiffs’ “Fifth Amendment arguments are legally deficient and do not hold water with established caselaw,” said Judge Stephen P. McGlynn in a memorandum opinion for the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. McGlynn granted summary judgment to Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly on two constitutional claims; the gun owners will only be able to take their Second Amendment claim challenging the legality ...