A U.S. appeals court Thursday upheld an assault weapons ban that covers Chicago and the rest of Cook County, Illinois, saying guns rights advocates provided no compelling reason why it should diverge from a previous ruling upholding a similar ban in a Chicago suburb.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments from gun rights lawyers that the ban passed by the Cook County Board of Commissioners should be assessed differently than the ban in the suburb of Highland Park because crime is worse in Cook County, where residents might conclude they required more firepower to defend themselves.
The same Chicago-based court ruled in 2015 that Highland Park’s assault weapons ordinance didn’t run afoul of the Second Amendment right to bear arms, including because its residents could still obtain handguns and other types of firearms for their self-defense.
Thursday’s unanimous, 17-page decision describes the Highland Park ruling as guiding precedent for states within the 7th Circuit that includes the states of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, saying, “We have stated repeatedly, and recently, that, absent a compelling reason, we will not overturn circuit precedent.”
The 2-1 decision in the Highland Park case four years ago found municipalities ought to have leeway in deciding how to regulate firearms.
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/us-court-of-appeals-upholds-chicagos-assault-weapons-ban/
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments from gun rights lawyers that the ban passed by the Cook County Board of Commissioners should be assessed differently than the ban in the suburb of Highland Park because crime is worse in Cook County, where residents might conclude they required more firepower to defend themselves.
The same Chicago-based court ruled in 2015 that Highland Park’s assault weapons ordinance didn’t run afoul of the Second Amendment right to bear arms, including because its residents could still obtain handguns and other types of firearms for their self-defense.
Thursday’s unanimous, 17-page decision describes the Highland Park ruling as guiding precedent for states within the 7th Circuit that includes the states of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, saying, “We have stated repeatedly, and recently, that, absent a compelling reason, we will not overturn circuit precedent.”
The 2-1 decision in the Highland Park case four years ago found municipalities ought to have leeway in deciding how to regulate firearms.
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/us-court-of-appeals-upholds-chicagos-assault-weapons-ban/
