Overview

• Judges heard oral arguments in Chicago on whether to uphold a district court’s ruling that found Illinois’ 2023 gun and magazine restrictions unconstitutional.
• Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon argued AR-15–style rifles are protected by the Second Amendment, prompting Judge Frank Easterbrook to press her on whether factual findings should affect that view.
• Illinois’ lawyers countered that the prohibited firearms are not protected “arms” because they share qualities with military weapons not commonly used for self-defense.
• The merits panel consists of Judges Frank Easterbrook, Michael Brennan, and Amy St. Eve, and must reconcile conflicting district-court outcomes after a 2023 appellate ruling allowed the law to remain in effect at the preliminary stage.
• The law bans sales of specified semiautomatic firearms, caps magazines at 10 rounds for long guns and 15 for handguns, and requires registration of previously owned covered weapons, with a ruling expected later and further appeals likely to the U.S. Supreme Court.