Quincy Reporter

The Illinois State Supreme Court issued a decision regarding the state's ban on semi-automatic weapons on Aug. 11. Sen. Neil Anderson responded in an Aug. 14 Facebook post.

"Governor Pritzker was protected by his hand-picked Illinois Supreme Court, which chose not to rule on the merits of the Second Amendment," Anderson said. "It’s clear that Illinois’ gun ban law violates our right to bear arms and Illinoisans will get a fair shake at getting their rights restored when this law is taken up at the federal level. As always, I stand firm behind law-abiding gun owners and will fight against any attempt to infringe on our constitutional rights.”

On Aug. 11, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the Protect Our Communities Act, which was also known as House Bill 5855, and was signed into law on Jan 10, 2023. It was intended to go into effect on Jan. 10, 2023, but was put on hold as legal challenges worked through the courts, including this case, filed by Rep. Dan Caulkins as an individual, a Decatur pawn broker, and like-minded Macon County gun owners. The Associated Press reported: “In a 4-3 decision Friday, the high court found that the Protect Our Communities Act does not violate the federal Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the law nor the state constitution’s bar on special legislation. The court also decreed that state Rep. Dan Caulkins, a Decatur Republican, a Decatur pawn broker and like-minded Macon County gun-owners who brought the lawsuit had earlier waived their claims that the law infringes on the Second Amendment to own firearms and could not raise it before the Supreme Court.”

The Illinois State Supreme Court's 4-3 decision, with dissents, is available here.

In April, Anderson spoke out against the ban again, applauding the U.S. Southern District Court’s stay of the ban. “This law is a complete overreach by the democratic majority party here in Illinois and I applaud the court’s ruling to halt its enforcement. This law has done nothing but punish law-abiding gun owners and prohibit them from exercising their constitutional right to bear arms. Friday’s order is a huge step in the case to protect that right. I continue to fully support and stand behind law-abiding gun owners who want to take part in their 2nd Amendment rights.”