DOJ Files Amicus Brief Supporting NRA-Backed Challenge to IL’s Ban on “Assault Weapons” and “Large-Capacity Magazines”

Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in the Seventh Circuit supporting an NRA-backed challenge to Illinois’s prohibition on so-called “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines.”

On January 10, 2023, Illinois enacted HB 5741, the “Protect Illinois Communities Act” (“PICA”), which banned “assault weapons”—including over 1,000 previously lawful firearms—and “large-capacity magazines”—including 10+ round magazines for long guns and 15+ round magazines for handguns. Almost immediately, the NRA-backed lawsuit challenging these bans, Barnett v. Raoul, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

On April 28, 2023, the District Court preliminarily enjoined the bans, holding that they likely violate the Second Amendment. The Seventh Circuit reversed, however, holding on November 3, 2023, that the bans likely do not violate the Second Amendment. After the Supreme Court declined to hear the case at such an early stage in the litigation, the case returned to the District Court. Then on November 9, 2024, the District Court again ruled in our favor, finding that the bans violate the Second Amendment and entering a permanent injunction preventing their enforcement. The state subsequently appealed to the Seventh Circuit, which stayed the District Court’s ruling while it decides the case.

On June 13, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice filed its amicus brief on behalf of the United States in the Seventh Circuit. The DOJ’s brief argues that because PICA bans arms that are commonly possessed for lawful purposes—including AR-style rifles and standard-capacity magazines—it violates the Second Amendment under the Supreme Court’s test for Second Amendment challenges. The brief also explains how the Seventh Circuit misapplied the Supreme Court’s test the last time it ruled on this case and urged the court to affirm the District Court’s permanent injunction.  

Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on NRA-ILA’s ongoing efforts to defend your constitutional rights, and please visit www.nraila.org/litigation to keep up to date on NRA-ILA’s ongoing litigation efforts.