A trial court in the U.S. state of Illinois has temporarily paused the entry into force of a new assault rifle control law, preventing it from limiting the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines or banning switches that convert semi-automatic weapons to machine guns.
An Illinois judge has granted the temporary restraining order sought by some 800 plaintiffs, blocking the law signed by Democratic Gov. Jay Robert Pritzker last week, CNN has reported.
The measure limits the sale of large-capacity ammunition magazines, bans switches that allow semi-automatic firearms to fire automatically and «expands the ability of courts to prevent dangerous persons from possessing a firearm through firearm restraining orders.»
So-called switches that effectively convert a semiautomatic firearm into an automatic firearm are already prohibited in most circumstances by federal firearms laws.
The plaintiffs have argued that the ban violates the Illinois Constitution and have asked for an exception in the legislation where they would be allowed to purchase such weaponry.
«This legislation has used criteria to pick and choose who can and cannot own guns without due consideration,» said the judge who stopped the law, Joshua Morrison.
«Moreover, because of the speed with which this bill was passed, the effect to protected classes could not be considered, nor could the legislature study whether this was the least restrictive way to accomplish its goal,» he added, according to the cited network.
Meanwhile, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office has filed a notice of appeal and will ask the appellate court to overturn and vacate the temporary restraining order, Attorney General spokesman Jamey Dunn-Thomason said in a statement after learning of the ruling.
«This decision is not surprising. While disappointing, it is the initial result we have seen in many cases brought by plaintiffs whose goal is to promote ideology over public safety,» Pritzker added in the missive.
The lawsuit is one of several filed following the enactment of the new gun law, which passed overwhelmingly in the Democratic-controlled state legislature.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
