The Second Amendment Foundation and its partners in a challenge of the ban on so-called “assault weapons” in Cook County, Illinois today filed a memorandum of law in support of their request for summary judgment in the case, which began in August 2021 and is known as Viramontes v. Cook County.
SAF is joined by the Firearms Policy Coalition and Cook County residents Christopher Khaya and Cutberto Viramontes, for whom the case is known. They are represented by attorneys David Sigale of Wheaton, Ill., and David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson and William V. Bergstrom, all with Cooper & Kirk in Washington, D.C.
“This case has been pending for more than 18 months and it is time for a judgment based on the guidelines set by the Supreme Court last year in the Bruen ruling,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “This past January, Illinois enacted a law making it illegal to manufacture, deliver, sell, import, purchase or possess a so-called ‘assault weapon,’ but that law is preliminary enjoined as of last month.
“The firearms banned under Cook County’s ordinance are in common use,” he added, “meaning they cannot be found dangerous and unusual, and neither can they be arbitrarily banned.”
SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut noted the Supreme Court has already rejected the notion that the only arms protected by the Second Amendment are those which were in existence in the time of the founding.
“Just because a firearm was developed in more recent times,” Kraut stated, “does not mean it is not protected by the Second Amendment. The types of guns in question are owned by more than 24 million American citizens, so they are unquestionably in common use today. Therefore, we’re asking for a summary judgment against the Cook County ban.”
