Updated on: July 9, 2026 / 10:18 PM EDT
/ CBS/AP
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A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an Illinois ban on semiautomatic weapons, keeping in place a law passed largely in response to the deadly Highland Park parade mass shooting.The ban, called the Protect Illinois Communities Act, was passed and quickly signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in January 2023, in response to the Highland Park July 4th parade mass shooting that killed seven people and injured 36. The shooter used a legally purchased semiautomatic weapon.The law prohibits the sale of more than 100 kinds of semiautomatic firearms and limits magazine capacities.In a 2-1 opinion on Thursday, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling and upheld the ban. The panel ruled that the law is "consistent with our regulatory tradition" and does not violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms."Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse," the appeals court said.The majority opinion also pushes back on claims made by the plaintiffs that semiautomatic weapons are not at fault for mass shootings."The undisputed record evidence undercuts that claim, showing that the presence of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines is strongly correlated with the severity of the societal problem," the opinion states.
