For Immediate Release
July 9, 2026
CHICAGO – The Gun Violence Prevention PAC of Illinois (G-PAC), the state’s leading gun violence prevention organization, today issued a statement on the decision by the U.S. 7th Circuit
Court of Appeals to uphold the Illinois ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
“The 7th Circuit decision upholding the Illinois ban on assault rifles and large-capacity magazines is welcome news. It means Illinois citizens will continue to be protected against these
dangerous weapons designed, as Judge St. Eve says, for military use, not self-defense or other lawful purposes,” said John Schmidt, G-PAC Executive Board member and former U.S. Associate Attorney General. “The U. S. Supreme Court has now taken up in two other cases whether to reverse the conclusion that assault rifles like AR-15s can be banned, and we’re optimistic that the court will agree with today’s decision, and all other courts of appeals, upholding such bans. The Supreme Court excluded from that appeal the constitutionality of a ban on large-capacity magazines so any decision in that case will not affect our continued protection against those lethal attachments.”
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