Federal judge blocks Illinois assault weapons ban

A federal judge on Friday issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of an Illinois ban on certain semiautomatic rifles.

Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker in January signed into law the measure, which defined an assault weapons as a "semiautomatic rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine or that may be readily modified to accept a detachable magazine" should it also possess one or more external features unrelated to the weapon's firing capacity, such as various stocks, flash suppressors, or grenade launchers.

United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois Judge Stephen Patrick McGlynn granted the temporary stay, Fox News reported. McGlynn indicated that the court "must be mindful of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution."

The Protect Illinois Communities Act "did not just regulate the rights of the people to defend themselves; it restricted that right, and in some cases, completely obliterated that right by criminalizing the purchase and the sale of more than 190 'arms,'" he wrote.

The measure also required existing owners of the now-outlawed firearms to register them with the state.

Gun Owners of America celebrated the ruling, with Senior Vice President Erich Pratt saying "Governor Pritzker and his anti-gun cabal in the legislature thought they could steam roll the Second Amendment, and this ruling makes clear that they abused their authority and infringed on their citizens’ rights."

"We look forward to continuing this fight," he added.

The ruling comes shortly after Washington enacted a comparable ban on "assault weapons: that has since faced its own legal challenge. That suit claims that "the State of Washington has criminalized one of the most common and important means by which its citizens can exercise their fundamental right to self-defense."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.