BREAKING NEWS!
The United States Supreme Court has just agreed to hear what will undoubtedly be the most consequential Second Amendment case since its landmark Bruen decision in 2022.
The Court has agreed to hear both Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins — the Illinois challenge and a similar challenge from Connecticut that will determine whether or not the government can ban AR-15s!
As we all know, Circuit Courts have upheld these bans in the 2nd and our own 7th Circuit. That was expected. This fight was always headed to the Supreme Court.
As gun owners, we’ve been fighting to reach this moment for decades.
The Supreme Court’s 2008 Heller decision confirmed an INDIVIDUAL right to keep and bear arms (vs just a governmental right.)
Their 2010 McDonald decision held that the Heller decision applied not only against the federal government, but against state and local governments as well.
And in 2022, the Bruen decision prohibited the government from simply citing ‘public safety’ to justify gun control. Instead, they must prove that similar restrictions existed during the Founding Era when the Second Amendment was adopted.
Now the Court is poised to answer the question gun owners have been asking ever since Bruen was handed down: Was Illinois’ ban on the AR-15 in 2023 constitutional, or not?
If the Court finds our AR-15 ban is unconstitutional, we can finally use our rifles again without having to fear prison time!
HELP ILFA FIGHT IN THE SUPREME COURT!
Many organizations will be involved in this battle through Amicus Briefs — additional arguments to support the case.
We expect most entities who do this to use the ‘common use’ argument: that the government can’t ban items that are commonly used by 25 million law-abiding Americans.
But there is a risk to this approach.
The danger is obvious. If governments can ban AR-15s today and then later argue they are ‘uncommon’ because they banned them, constitutional rights become self-defeating.
That’s why I have already begun strategizing with our legal team about producing the hardest-hitting Amicus Brief possible — not relying on the ‘common use’ argument but instead using constitutional arguments.
Striking down our AR-15 ban based on the number in circulation may win the case in the short term.
But striking it down on constitutional arguments — augmented by the Bruen and Heller decisions — could last generations!
HELP ILFA FIGHT IN THE SUPREME COURT!
If you don’t own an AR-15 and wonder how this applies to you, I’ll tell you. The Left never intended to stop with banning AR-15s.
A SCOTUS victory defending our right to own an AR-15 also defends your M1 Garand, Browning Hi-Power, and your Marlin .22.
If you’re wondering why we should care about this here in Illinois, where multiple lawsuits have been filed against PICA and failed, I’ll answer that, too.
We ALWAYS knew we’d lose in the 7th Circuit. It’s one of the worst Circuit Courts in America for gun owners. But we had to lose there, to bring this fight to the Supreme Court!
The Illinois Firearms Association must raise $22,500 to fund this Amicus Brief.
All written briefs are due before oral arguments this fall, so we need to move fast.
HELP ILFA FIGHT IN THE SUPREME COURT!
While the Supreme Court isn’t the author of our freedoms — these freedoms come from God and are codified via law and the Constitution — the Court’s job is to defend them.
A Supreme Court victory in this case could overturn our AR-15 ban and pay dividends for generations to come!
Help us fund this Amicus Brief with your most generous donation today.
For Illinois,
Aaron Dorr
Executive Director
Illinois Firearms Association
P.S. Gun owners spent decades winning Heller, McDonald, and Bruen in the United States Supreme Court.
But the next gun rights case in the Supreme Court will determine whether PICA’s ban on AR-15s stands, or falls.
Help the Illinois Firearms Association fight in the Supreme Court to secure Second Amendment freedom for generations to come. Make a generous contribution today.