DEERFIELD, IL — A massive, wildly illegal ordinance in Deerfield, Illinois that prescribed the banning of “assault” weapons was smacked down by a circuit court judge less than 24 hours before it would have gone into effect, Vice News reports.
According to Townhall, Deerfield had defined “assault” weapons as any firearm that had a detachable magazine capable of holding 10 or more rounds.
That’s every semi-automatic pistol that I own.
It didn’t matter to the town’s council, which voted for the ordinance unanimously earlier this year. Those who failed to comply were to face steep penalties.
As Vice News reports:
A judge blocked a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in the small town of Deerfield, Illinois, less than 24 hours before it was meant to go into effect.
The decision, handed down Tuesday evening in the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in Lake County, Illinois, is a small victory for gun rights groups, who sued the Chicago suburb in April after it became the first municipality to ban assault weapons following the Feb. 14 Parkland high school shooting. The Deerfield ordinance was passed unanimously by all six board members on April 2.
Gun groups, including the National Rifle Association of Illinois, requested a temporary restraining order against the ban while the lawsuit proceeded. Had the ban gone into effect, anyone found in possession of an assault weapon after Wednesday, July 13, would have faced a fine of up to $1,000 per day.
This is a big win for the gun community everywhere, but we’re just getting started.
These initiatives are being launched all the time all over the country, and for no other reason than the fact that the people who launch them are both ignorant of the facts surrounding firearms and afraid — both of their own ignorance and the big, black, scary guns they get thrown in their face by the media.
If you’re the praying type, pray for our judges. They’re going to have lots of tough calls like this — not tough in terms of what’s right and wrong but tough in terms of repercussions of doing the right thing — in the next couple of years.
Whether you’re the praying type or not — vote as often as you can and as well-informed as you can be.
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