Civil Rights Division Backs NRA Lawsuit Against Illinois Gun Ban
On June 13, 2025, the Civil Rights Division under President Trump’s administration announced plans to submit a supportive outline for the NRA lawsuit challenging Illinois’s prohibition on “weapons of assault.”
The announcement was made by Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon through a post on X, capturing attention with a bold statement: “The Second Amendment is not a second-rate right. See you in Illinois court.”
The introduction of the Amicus Brief references the Supreme Court’s significant ruling from three years earlier, which aimed to counter certain states’ views that the Second Amendment held lesser importance. It noted that Illinois, shortly after the ruling, enacted a ban on certain popular rifles and magazines, contradicting the Supreme Court’s directive that prohibits states from enacting laws against firearms “generally used” by lawful citizens.
The Civil Rights Division highlights two critical concerns:
- Does the law infringe on the Second Amendment by banning firearms commonly used by law-abiding citizens for legitimate purposes?
- Does the law violate the Second Amendment by restricting ownership of magazines and other firearm accessories typically utilized for legal reasons?
The brief emphasizes that the AR-15 is one of the firearms protected by the Second Amendment, which extends to the magazines that provide the necessary ammunition.
