For Immediate Release
June 30, 2026
CHICAGO – The Gun Violence Prevention PAC of Illinois (G-PAC), the state’s leading gun violence prevention organization, today issued a statement following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to take up a case challenging the constitutionality of Cook County’s ban on assault weapons.
“The Supreme Court will be deciding an issue on which six federal courts of appeal have agreed: that the Second Amendment allows a ban on guns with enhanced lethal features designed for military assault. Those decisions include the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals denials of relief against the Illinois statewide ban passed three years ago and the earlier Cook County ordinance at issue
in the case before the Court,” said John Schmidt, G-PAC Executive Board member and former U.S. Associate Attorney General. “We believe those decisions are right under the Constitution and consistent with the longstanding American history of banning weapons, from bowie knives to machine guns, that are exceptionally dangerous and not needed or used for self-defense. While
the case is before the Supreme Court, the Illinois law remains fully in effect, and the sale of these weapons remains unlawful in our state.”
-30-