WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block state authorities from enforcing HB 5471, the recently-enacted “Protect Illinois Communities Act,” which bans the sale of several hundred of the most commonly-owned semiautomatic rifles in America, including all rifles on the very popular Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) platform. That same law also bans the possession of standard-capacity magazines and certain models of semiautomatic handguns. This unconstitutional law unquestionably violates the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Illinois citizens and the state should be enjoined immediately from enforcing it.

“NSSF filed this motion for a preliminary injunction because every day this unconstitutional law is on the books, law-abiding citizens are being denied their right to keep and bear arms of their choosing for self-defense and other lawful purposes,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “This ban on MSRs and other commonly-owned rifles, standard-capacity magazines and certain handguns was passed in open defiance of the Supreme Court’s Bruen and Heller decisions. The Second Amendment protects the right of a citizen to freely approach a gun counter to legally purchase commonly-owned firearms, unless, as the Supreme Court held in Bruen, the state can prove its law is part of a historic, national tradition and heritage of banning such arms – something the state obviously cannot do.” Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, along with several co-plaintiffs, filed a legal challenge seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent Illinois from enforcing the recently enacted law that bans most semiautomatic firearms including Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs), certain models of semiautomatic handguns and standard capacity magazines.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law HB 5471, the “Protect Illinois Communities Act.” HB 5741 is among the nation’s most expansive gun control laws. It bans the sale of hundreds of models of rifles including commonly-owned MSRs, certain semiautomatic handguns and rifle magazines with a capacity greater than 10 cartridges and pistol magazines with a capacity greater than 15 cartridges. There are over 24.4 million MSRs in circulation today, more popular than the top selling Ford F-150, and tens of millions of standard-capacity magazines also in circulation.

“The Illinois gun ban law is an overreaching attempt to deny law-abiding Americans their fundamental and Constitutionally-protected Second Amendment rights,” said Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “The U.S. Supreme has already recognized that semiautomatic rifles ‘traditionally have been widely accepted as lawful,’ and with over 24 million of these rifles in circulation today, they are clearly commonly-owned for lawful purposes, meeting the threshold set by the Supreme Court in its Heller decision. Semiautomatic handguns are overwhelmingly the choice of firearm for personal self-defense. This law is clearly unconstitutional and does nothing to punish the criminal. It only deprives law-abiding Americans from being able to exercise their full spectrum of Second Amendment rights.” Read more

Second Amendment Foundation

12500 NE Tenth Place · Bellevue, WA 98005

(425) 454-7012 · FAX (425) 451-3959 · www.saf.org

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a motion for preliminary injunction in its federal court challenge of the recently-signed ban on modern semiautomatic rifles and their ammunition magazines. The case is known as Harrel v. Raoul.

Joining SAF are the Illinois State Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, C4 Gun Store LLC, Marengo Guns, Inc. and a private citizen, Dane Harrel, for whom the case is named. They are represented by attorney David Sigale of Wheaton, Ill. The motion was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

In their motion, plaintiffs note to the court, “The Supreme Court has now repeatedly said that the Second Amendment ‘protects the possession and use of weapons that are in common use at the time.’ The firearms and magazines Illinois recently banned certainly qualify for protection under this standard. The firearms include many of the most commonly owned firearms in the country and the magazines are integral for the operation of common firearms.”

“Thanks to last summer’s Supreme Court decision in the Bruen case,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “the defendants—in this case the State of Illinois—must justify the ban signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker as being consistent with historical tradition rooted at the time the Constitution was ratified. They can’t possibly do so because the Bruen ruling clearly established there is no tradition of banning commonly possessed arms, and modern semi-auto rifles are owned by millions of citizens across the country.” Read more

Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

12500 N.E. Tenth Place • Bellevue, WA 98005 • www.ccrkba.org

BELLEVUE, WA – California Congresswoman Judy Chu, who represents the state’s 28th Congressional District, reportedly called for universal background checks in the wake of Saturday night’s tragic mass shooting in Monterey Park, telling CBS News it should have passed “a long time ago.”

“But in California,” noted Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, “that has been the law for quite some time. The gun allegedly used in this horrible attack is already illegal in the state. Yet, Rep. Chu is making statements suggesting her state needs more gun control when it is clear the laws she wants are already on the books, and they did not prevent the tragedy in Monterey Park.”

The congresswoman also was quoted in news reports demanding to know, “Why do we have so many guns in this country and even more on the horizon? It’s not right…Other countries don’t operate this way, and we should not either.”

“For a member of Congress to make such a remark is astonishing,” Gottlieb observed. “The right to keep and bear arms is enshrined in our Constitution, which she swore an oath to uphold when she took office. Surely she must realize our Second Amendment is a cornerstone of the Constitution and its Bill of Rights. Read more

Washington, D.C. – Today, Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) joined a federal lawsuit filed today challenging Illinois’s latest ban on so-called “assault weapons.” The Second Amendment Law Center and the Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois are also lead plaintiffs in this suit, along with others as well.

As of today, the law prohibits the sale or transfer of specific sporting rifles or those based on features, as well as prohibits the sale of rifle magazines over 10 rounds or handgun magazines capable of carrying more than 15 rounds. Current owners of weapons meeting standards under this law will be required to register their lawfully owned products with the Illinois State Police by January 1st, 2024, or face possible felony charges.

This law, which was hastily passed on the very last day of the legislative session earlier this month, has received significant blowback from prosecutors and sheriffs across the state, with over 90% of sheriffs statewide issuing statements pledging not to enforce the law. Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, praised Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s determination that Citigroup’s antigun discriminatory policies of refusing to conduct business with Constitutionally-protected firearm businesses violates state law.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 19, the Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act, into law in 2021, which requires corporations competing for municipal contracts in The Lone Star State to certify they do not hold discriminatory policies against lawful firearm businesses. Citigroup submitted a certification letter attesting they do not hold such policies. Their own website, however, demonstrates that the corporate bank refuses business with firearm businesses that do not comply with their unconstitutional restrictions, including age-based gun bans, unlawful magazine restrictions, and bump stock bans (which was recently ruled unconstitutional in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.)

“The firearm industry is grateful for Attorney General Paxton’s steadfast commitment to protecting the Second Amendment rights of Texans and his refusal to bow to the corporate ‘woke’ agendas that seek to eliminate the Constitutional rights of all Americans,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “Attorney General Paxton’s determination that Citigroup is, in fact, unlawfully discriminating against firearm businesses tells these corporate entities that the Second Amendment is not for sale.” Read more

By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA)

I haven’t heard much about our State’s end run around the Second Amendment, but the entire House Bill 6544 is included below.  I’ve been surprised that some outdoors people I’ve talked to didn’t have a clue this was in the works.  The secret is out.

House Bill 6544

A bill to ban the manufacture, possession, purchase, and sale of assault weapons; to provide certain powers and duties for certain state and local officials and agencies; to provide for the promulgation of rules; and to provide penalties.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

Sec. 1. As used in this act, “assault weapon” means a semiautomatic rifle that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has 1 or more of the following characteristics:

(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 or telescoping stock.

(iv) A shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the nontrigger hand without being burned, but excluding a slide that encloses the barrel.

Sec. 2. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, beginning January 1, 2024, a person shall not manufacture, possess, purchase, or sell an assault weapon in this state.

(2) A person may continue to possess an assault weapon that the person legally possessed before the effective date of this act if both of the following apply:

(a) The person registers the assault weapon with the department of state police in compliance with rules adopted for that purpose by the department of state police.

(b) The person renews the registration of the assault weapon every 5 years.

(3) A person who violates subsection (1) is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years.

Sec. 3. The department of state police shall promulgate rules pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, to implement this act.