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CHALLENGE TO ILLINOIS LAW ON 2ND AMENDMENT NOW IN FEDERAL COURT
Lawful gun owners from around the State of Illinois, along with the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), the Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc., and the Second Amendment Foundation, have filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, the Director of the Illinois State Police Brendan Reilly, and numerous Illinois States Attorneys challenging Illinois’ new law.
On January 10, 2023, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation that enacted an extensive ban on firearms and high-capacity magazines in the state. Plaintiffs say the new law infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear commonly possessed firearms and ammunition magazines for the defense of self and family and other lawful purposes.
“Governor Pritzker and the legislators who voted for this law did this for self-serving political purposes and are not upholding the United States Constitution,” said Richard Pearson, Executive Director of the ISRA. “The 2nd Amendment is fundamentally about self-defense, and the 14th Amendment is about not having our rights infringed. This new law makes criminals out of law-abiding citizens.
“The real problem is that there are existing gun laws that do not work because they are not enforced,” Pearson added. “We would all be much safer if the police had the resources they need, and there were stronger consequences for the non-law-abiding citizens.”
A resident of St. Clair County and two Illinois gun stores join the three non-profit organizations seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.
The entire lawsuit is attached to this release. The ISRA is represented by the Law Firm of David G. Sigale, P.C. of Wheaton, IL
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www.ISRA.org
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
DANE HARREL, an individual and resident of St.
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Clair County, Illinois;
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C4 GUN STORE, LLC, an Illinois limited liability
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company;
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MARENGO GUNS, INC., an Illinois corporation;
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ILLINOIS STATE RIFLE ASSOCIATION;
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FIREARMS POLICY COALITION, INC.; and
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SECOND AMENDMENT FOUNDATION,
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Plaintiffs,
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KWAME RAOUL, in his official capacity as
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Attorney General of Illinois;
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BRENDAN F. KELLY, in his official capacity as
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Director of the Illinois State Police;
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JAMES GOMRIC, in his official capacity as State’s
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Attorney of St. Clair County, Illinois;
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JEREMY WALKER, in his official capacity as
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State’s Attorney of Randolph County, Illinois;
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PATRICK D. KENNEALLY, in his official
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capacity as State’s Attorney of McHenry County,
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Illinois;
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RICHARD WATSON, in his official capacity as
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Sheriff of St. Clair County, Illinois;
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JARROD PETERS, in his official capacity as
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Sheriff of Randolph County, Illinois;
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ROBB TADELMAN, in his official capacity as
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Sheriff of McHenry County, Illinois;
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Defendants.
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No.
COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
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Plaintiffs DANE HARREL, C4 GUN STORE, LLC, an Illinois limited liability corporation, MARENGO GUNS, INC., an Illinois corporation, ILLINOIS STATE RIFLE ASSOCIATION (“ISRA”), FIREARMS POLICY COALITION, INC. (“FPC”), and SECOND AMENDMENT FOUNDATION (“SAF”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), by and through counsel of record, bring this Complaint against Defendants, officials of the State of Illinois and its counties responsible for enforcing a statute infringing the right of law-abiding, peaceful citizens to keep and bear commonly possessed firearms and ammunition magazines for defense of self and family and for other lawful purposes, and allege as follows:
INTRODUCTION
See 720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/24-1.9(b) & (c); 5/24-1(a)(15) & (a)16.
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5/24-1.10(b) and (c).
SAF, their fundamental, individual right to keep and bear common arms.
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those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.” Id. at 2132 (quoting Heller, 554 U.S. 582). By prohibiting Plaintiffs from possessing and carrying popular semiautomatic firearms and common ammunition magazines, Illinois has prevented them from “keeping and bearing Arms” within the meaning of the Amendment’s text. As a result, “[t]o justify its regulation, the government . . . must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with this Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation.” 142 S. Ct. at 2126.
JURISDICTION & VENUE
PARTIES
Plaintiffs
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an adult over the age of 21, a citizen of the United States, and legally eligible under federal and state law to possess and acquire firearms. Harrel is a member of Plaintiffs ISRA, FPC, and SAF. 13. Plaintiff C4 Gun Store, LLC is an Illinois limited liability company with its principal place of business located in Sparta, Randolph County, Illinois. C4 Gun Store sells the semiautomatic firearms prohibited by the State’s ban, and also sells standard capacity magazines, both as standard equipment for many of the firearms it sells and also as standalone products. Since Illinois’s semiautomatic rifle and standard capacity magazine bans have gone into effect, C4 Gun Store has been forced to stop selling such semiautomatic firearms and standard capacity magazines to civilians and to limit its sales to those specifically exempted from the state-wide ban.
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Illinois. ISRA brings this action on behalf of its members, including the named Plaintiffs, who are adversely and directly harmed by Defendants’ enforcement of the laws, regulations, policies, practices, and customs challenged herein.
action programs focused on the civil right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. SAF has members nationwide, including in the State of Illinois. SAF brings this action on behalf of its members, including the named Plaintiffs, who are adversely and directly harmed by Defendants’ enforcement of the laws, regulations, policies, practices, and customs challenged herein.
Defendants
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1720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/24-1.9(a)(1).
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(i) a pistol grip or thumbhole stock;
(ii) any feature capable of functioning as a protruding grip that can be held by the non trigger hand;
(iii) a folding, telescoping, thumbhole, or detachable stock, or a stock that is otherwise foldable or adjustable in a manner that operates to reduce the length, size, or any other dimension, or otherwise enhances the concealability of, the weapon;
(iv) a flash suppressor;
(v) a grenade launcher;
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(vi) a shroud attached to the barrel or that partially or completely encircles the barrel, allowing the bearer to hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned, but excluding a slide that encloses the barrel.
720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/24-1.9(a)(1)(A).
(i) All AK types, including the following:
(I) AK, AK47, AK47S, AK–74, AKM, AKS, ARM, MAK90, MISR, NHM90, NHM91, SA85, SA93, Vector Arms AK–47, VEPR, WASR–10, and WUM. (II) IZHMASH Saiga AK.
(III) MAADI AK47 and ARM.
(IV) Norinco 56S, 56S2, 84S, and 86S.
(V) Poly Technologies AK47 and AKS.
(VI) SKS with a detachable magazine.
(ii) all AR types, including the following:
(I) AR–10.
(II) AR–15.
(III) Alexander Arms Overmatch Plus 16.
(IV) Armalite M15 22LR Carbine.
(V) Armalite M15–T.
(VI) Barrett REC7.
(VII) Beretta AR–70.
(VIII) Black Rain Ordnance Recon Scout.
(IX) Bushmaster ACR.
(X) Bushmaster Carbon 15.
(XI) Bushmaster MOE series.
(XII) Bushmaster XM15.
(XIII) Chiappa Firearms MFour rifles.
(XIV) Colt Match Target rifles.
(XV) CORE Rifle Systems CORE15 rifles.
(XVI) Daniel Defense M4A1 rifles.
(XVII) Devil Dog Arms 15 Series rifles.
(XVIII) Diamondback DB15 rifles.
(XIX) DoubleStar AR rifles.
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(XX) DPMS Tactical rifles.
(XXI) DSA Inc. ZM–4 Carbine.
(XXII) Heckler & Koch MR556.
(XXIII) High Standard HSA–15 rifles.
(XXIV) Jesse James Nomad AR–15 rifle.
(XXV) Knight’s Armament SR–15.
(XXVI) Lancer L15 rifles.
(XXVII) MGI Hydra Series rifles.
(XXVIII) Mossberg MMR Tactical rifles.
(XXIX) Noreen Firearms BN 36 rifle.
(XXX) Olympic Arms.
(XXXI) POF USA P415.
(XXXII) Precision Firearms AR rifles.
(XXXIII) Remington R–15 rifles.
(XXXIV) Rhino Arms AR rifles.
(XXXV) Rock River Arms LAR–15 or Rock River Arms LAR–47.
(XXXVI) Sig Sauer SIG516 rifles and MCX rifles.
(XXXVII) Smith & Wesson M&P15 rifles.
(XXXVIII) Stag Arms AR rifles.
(XXXIX) Sturm, Ruger & Co. SR556 and AR–556 rifles.
(XL) Uselton Arms Air-Lite M–4 rifles.
(XLI) Windham Weaponry AR rifles.
(XLII) WMD Guns Big Beast.
(XLIII) Yankee Hill Machine Company, Inc. YHM–15 rifles.
(iii) Barrett M107A1.
(iv) Barrett M82A1.
(v) Beretta CX4 Storm.
(vi) Calico Liberty Series.
(vii) CETME Sporter.
(viii) Daewoo K–1, K–2, Max 1, Max 2, AR 100, and AR 110C.
(ix) Fabrique Nationale/FN Herstal FAL, LAR, 22 FNC, 308 Match, L1A1 Sporter, PS90, SCAR, and FS2000.
(x) Feather Industries AT–9.
(xi) Galil Model AR and Model ARM.
(xii) Hi-Point Carbine.
(xiii) HK–91, HK–93, HK–94, HK–PSG–1, and HK USC.
(xiv) IWI TAVOR, Galil ACE rifle.
(xv) Kel-Tec Sub-2000, SU–16, and RFB.
(xvi) SIG AMT, SIG PE–57, Sig Sauer SG 550, Sig Sauer SG 551, and SIG MCX. (xvii) Springfield Armory SAR–48.
(xviii) Steyr AUG.
(xix) Sturm, Ruger & Co. Mini-14 Tactical Rifle M–14/20CF.
(xx) All Thompson rifles, including the following:
(I) Thompson M1SB.
(II) Thompson T1100D.
(III) Thompson T150D.
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(IV) Thompson T1B.
(V) Thompson T1B100D.
(VI) Thompson T1B50D.
(VII) Thompson T1BSB.
(VIII) Thompson T1–C.
(IX) Thompson T1D.
(X) Thompson T1SB.
(XI) Thompson T5.
(XII) Thompson T5100D.
(XIII) Thompson TM1.
(XIV) Thompson TM1C.
(xxi) UMAREX UZI rifle.
(xxii) UZI Mini Carbine, UZI Model A Carbine, and UZI Model B Carbine. (xxiii) Valmet M62S, M71S, and M78.
(xxiv) Vector Arms UZI Type.
(xxv) Weaver Arms Nighthawk.
(xxvi) Wilkinson Arms Linda Carbine.
720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/24-1.9(a)(1)(J).
automatic rifles . . . are indeed in ‘common use’ as the plaintiffs contend.”). 34. Rifles built on an “AR-style” platform are a paradigmatic example of the type of arm Illinois bans (“AR” is short for ArmaLite Rifle; ArmaLite originally designed the platform). 35. AR-15 rifles are among the most popular firearms in the nation, and they are owned by millions of Americans. A recent survey of gun owners indicates that about 24.6 million Americans have owned AR-15 or similar modern semiautomatic rifles, with the “median owner” identified as owning a single rifle. William English, PhD, 2021 National Firearms Survey: Updated Analysis Including Types of Firearms Owned at 2, 33 (May 13, 2022), https://bit.ly/3yPfoHw. A recent industry publication similarly estimated that over 24 million
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AR-15 or similar rifles have been produced for the U.S. market. NAT’L SHOOTING SPORTS FOUND., Commonly Owned: NSSF Announces Over 24 Million MSRs in Circulation, (July 20, 2022), https://bit.ly/3QBXiyv.
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gun uses were with rifles. See Kleck, Armed Resistance to Crime, supra, at 185, English, 2021 National Firearms Survey, supra, at 11.
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U.S. Expanded Homicide Table 8, Crime in the United States, DEP’T OF JUST. (FBI 2019), available at https://bit.ly/3HdolNd.
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of ammunition for handguns; or (2) any combination of parts from which a device described in paragraph (1) can be assembled.” 720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/24-1.10(a)(1)-(2). 55. The Magazine Ban applies to “any person within [the State of Illinois]” and excepts from its ambit only peace officers, current and retired law enforcement officers, government agencies, prison officials, members of the military, and certain private security contractors. 720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/24-1.10(e)(1)-(7).
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least one magazine that holds more than 10 rounds. And that is a conservative estimate since only current gun owners were polled. Those individuals frequently owned more than one such magazine. In fact, Professor English found that American gun owners have owned as many as 269 million handgun magazines that hold over 10 rounds and an additional 273 million rifle magazines over that threshold for a total of 542 million such magazines. Id. at 24.
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https://bit.ly/3t5UGzu; Charles Foulkes, THE GUN-FOUNDERS OF ENGLAND: WITH A LIST OF ENGLISH AND CONTINENTAL GUN-FOUNDERS FROM THE XIV TO THE XIX CENTURIES 32–33 (1937).
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the 1860s, 130 years before attempts to strictly regulate them would come along. David B. Kopel, The History of Firearm Magazines and Magazine Prohibitions, supra, at 871. 72. Magazine capacity is important for average citizens seeking to defend themselves because most shots fired in armed altercations miss their target. Professional police, who are trained and must regularly practice with their firearms, miss their targets more often than not. In a fourteen-year study of the Dallas Police Department, for example, officers achieved an accuracy rate of just 35%, and half of all Dallas officers missed every shot they fired. Christopher M. Donner and Nicole Popovich, Hitting (or missing) the mark: An examination of police shooting accuracy in officer-involved shooting incidents, POLICING: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 42, no. 3 (2019), available at https://bit.ly/3LrpoJC. An average citizen forced to defend herself suddenly is not likely to have a higher accuracy rate than professional police officers would.
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State’s ban. And unlike law-abiding citizens, violent criminals will have no compunction about violating Illinois’ Magazine Ban. Even if violent criminals were effectively prevented from acquiring banned magazines, they could easily compensate by bringing multiple firearms or magazines with them to the scene of the crime. Their ability to do so is made possible by the fact that violent criminals, and not their law-abiding victims, choose the time and place of crimes and can plan accordingly.
III. THE EFFECT ON PLAINTIFFS.
Dane Harrel
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he is unable to purchase semiautomatic firearms subject to the Firearms Ban, or additional magazines or firearms equipped with standard capacity magazines subject to the Magazine Ban lawfully, both for fear of prosecution and because the existence of the Firearms Ban and Magazine Ban, and Defendants’ enforcement of them, will extinguish the legal market for those items in Illinois, and make it impossible for Harrel to acquire them. But for the Firearm and Magazine Bans and Defendants’ enforcement thereof, Harrel would acquire semiautomatic rifles described in the Firearms Ban, and additional standard capacity magazines subject to the Magazine Ban.
C4 Gun Store
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Marengo Guns
COUNT ONE
42 U.S.C. § 1983 – Deprivation of Plaintiffs’ Rights under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.
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Defendants enforce 720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/24-1.9(b) & (c); 5/24-1.10(b) & (c). 97. Defendants’ enforcement of 720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/24-1.9(b) & (c); 5/24-1.10(b) & (c), and the statutes, regulations, customs, policies, and practices related thereto, is an infringement and an impermissible burden on Plaintiffs’ right to keep and bear arms pursuant to the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. 98. Defendants’ enforcement of 720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/24-1.9(b) & (c); 5/24-1.10(b) & (c), and the statutes, regulations, customs, policies, and practices related thereto forces Plaintiffs either to comply with the unconstitutional mandate—thereby being prevented from exercising their rights under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution—or be subjected to criminal prosecution.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
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or participation with him or her, from enforcing the Illinois ban on semiautomatic firearms and standard capacity magazines, consisting of 720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/24- 1.9(b) & (c); 5/24-1.10(b) & (c) and all related regulations, policies, and/or customs designed to enforce or implement the same;
Dated: January 17, 2023 Respectfully Submitted,
/s/David G. Sigale
Attorney for Plaintiffs
David G. Sigale (Atty. ID# 6238103)
LAW FIRM OF DAVID G. SIGALE, P.C.
430 West Roosevelt Road
Wheaton, IL 60187
630.452.4547
Attorney for Plaintiffs
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