WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, America First Legal (AFL) and Consovoy McCarthy filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States, urging it to take a case to force the Seventh Circuit to apply clearly established law regarding arms commonly used by Americans to protect their homes, their families, and themselves.
Last year, AFL and Consovoy McCarthy filed a lawsuit on behalf of our client–an emergency room doctor at a Chicago area public hospital who also taught tactical medicine at a public university and serves as a medic on a Chicagoland SWAT team–against the Attorney General of Illinois, Kwame Raoul, the Director of the Illinois State Police, Brendan F. Kelly, the City of Chicago, Cook County, and other defendants for violating the Second Amendment by banning the possession or purchase of America’s most commonly owned semi-automatic rifle, the AR-15, and standard magazines.
State and local laws enacted early last year categorically ban him from keeping at his Chicago home the semiautomatic rifle that he uses for SWAT training, self-defense, hunting, and sport shooting. As a medic on the SWAT team, AFL’s client is trained to provide medical aid to police officers, bystanders, perpetrators, and others who may be injured at the scene of an incident. He is dedicated to serving his community and is a law-abiding resident of Chicago with a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card and concealed-carry license. He owns firearms for self-defense, hunting, and sport shooting. He attends team training monthly. He would cross-train with the team’s operators to maintain his proficiency and familiarity with the AR-15, the rifle used by the SWAT team’s operators. Yet the restrictive laws in question, which clearly infringe upon his Constitutional rights, render his participation in monthly training drills a practical impossibility.
The District Court rejected our client’s motion for a preliminary injunction. On appeal, the Seventh Circuit wrongly determined that semiautomatic AR-15s, which millions of Americans own, are not “arms” for purposes of the Second Amendment. Instead, a common weapon used for self-defense by millions of civilians was wrongly determined to be a military weapon.
The Seventh Circuit’s decision is inconsistent with binding Supreme Court precedent, including N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1, 70 (2022). The cert petition asks the Supreme Court to take up the case to immediately review this egregious decision, which threatens the Second Amendment rights of our client and millions of Americans.
Statement from Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Vice Executive Director:
“The ‘right of the people to keep and bear Arms’ shall not be infringed–except apparently if you live in Chicago, Cook County, or the State of Illinois. History, tradition, and common sense all support our position in this case. No law-abiding American should ever be denied the right to protect himself or herself,” said Gene Hamilton.
Read the petition here.
Follow us on social media for the latest updates on America First Legal’s fight to protect your constitutional rights!
To schedule an engagement with America First Legal, please email [email protected].
Photo Credit: Adobe Stock Images
