United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Comey Barrett has given the City of Naperville until Monday to file a response to an emergency application for injunctive relief filed by a Naperville businessman and the National Foundation For Gun Rights. Barrett is responsible for assessing petitions for the 7th Circuit, which covers Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. As such, she can either recommend the appeal to the full Court or deny it outright.
The application argues that both the Illinois ban and the Naperville ordinance violate the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, which guarantees the right of individuals to bear arms.
NFGR initially requested a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois blocking both the state and local bans on behalf of fellow plaintiff, Naperville gun store owner Robert Bevis, whose livelihood has been severely impacted by both bans. The district court ruled against the request, after which foundation attorneys appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, pleading that Plaintiff Bevis was facing the loss of his business without speedy relief.
The Seventh Circuit declined to temporarily block the two semi-auto bans pending its review of the preliminary injunction appeal, so the foundation filed an Emergency Application for Injunction Pending Appellate Review with the U.S. Supreme Court on April 26, 2023.
“The assault weapons ban is a blatant violation of the rights of law-abiding citizens and does nothing to address the causes of gun violence,” said Dudley Brown, President of the National Foundation for Gun Rights. “Between them, Illinois and the City of Naperville are about to drive a law-abiding gun store owner into bankruptcy just because they don’t like his business. That’s grossly unconstitutional, and we’re asking the Supreme Court to put a stop to it.”
The legal status of the state ban is also uncertain, with judges in different jurisdictions issuing conflicting rulings. The Illinois Supreme Court is expected to take up the issue this month,
