BELLEVUE, Wash. — The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review in Viramontes v. Cook County, SAF’s challenge to the Cook County, Ill., ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
Originally filed in 2021, the case was put “on hold” during which time the Supreme Court handed down the 2022 Bruen decision, and the Illinois legislature passed the nearly identical statewide ban on “assault weapons,” which SAF has also challenged, in Harrel v. Raoul. SAF is joined in Viramontes by the Firearms Policy Coalition and two private citizens.
“The Supreme Court has indicated its interest in addressing assault weapons bans within the next term or two, and we think this case is a solid vehicle for that review,” said SAF Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “As Justice Thomas rightly pointed out in his dissent from denial in Snope, the longer SCOTUS delays, the longer millions of Americans are subject to these unconstitutional, categorical bans of the some of the most popular arms in America.”
As noted in the petition: “Cook County’s ‘assault weapons’ laws restrict many perfectly ordinary and common firearms, like the AR-15 rifle. These firearms are not distinct from other rifles in their design or their function. Indeed, the very term ‘assault weapon’ is a political slogan masquerading as a meaningful designation, designed to exploit ‘the public’s confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic’ firearms.”
“The idealogues in Cook County wrongfully think that the AR-15, and similar firearms, are not appropriate for self-defense,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb.
“The disenfranchisement of an entire population of residents is an absolute infringement on their Second Amendment rights. We’ve fought this case for far too long and it’s time for the Supreme Court to step in and determine that bans on the AR-15 are unconstitutional.”
For more information, or to register, visit SAF.org.
Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
I watched a guy do a youtube video and he had a shirt on with an AR on it and the shirt said, “it’s because I’m black, isn’t it”. That is the attitude of so many anti-gunners. It’s like the demonkkkrats that hate blacks, hate semi auto’s just as much and there is no difference. I was thinking about how to get over on all the BS our government is putting on us regarding guns. There is a way to do it here in OreGONEistan legally. Buy a gun for your relative for Christmas or just whatever reason you can… Read more »
The rotund fascist that is Jaba the Governor of Illinois would just ignore anything the high court issues. That fat idiot wants to be the next president, be very afraid.
definition of good government is one completely run BY THE PEOPLE no life time scumbags like debbie “sargent” shultz using insider trading to get rich she and the others who have done this should loose every thing and be dumped on the streets
SCROTUS will punt.
Tired of waiting, just make the call….?
SCrOTUS will just kick this case down the road for the next few years.
An online search says there are 20 to 40 million AR-15’s in the United States.
If everybody with one goes to Illinois on a given day to meet up then the problem will be solved and SCOTUS can go back to sleep.
HLB