The federal judge overseeing a trial challenging Illinois’ assault weapons ban wondered aloud from the bench on Thursday whether the guns currently outlawed by the state might have prevented the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis - had they existed and been legal at the time.
Judge Stephen McGlynn made the comments at the end of the four-day bench trial, one of several remarks he made during the trial about the value of AR-15-style guns as tools for civilian self-defense. McGlynn said he plans to rule on whether or not the law is unconstitutional in about a month.
McGlynn was born in the St. Mary’s hospital across the street from the federal courthouse, near downtown East St. Louis, where the trial took place. He pulled up a black and white photo of East Broadway, the site of a Black neighborhood that was burned down by a white mob over 100 years ago. The riots raged on for a week, and left hundreds of Black residents dead and displaced thousands more.
McGlynn asked rhetorically, if the death toll would have been different had some of the Black residents been better armed.
“What if they had, not a lot, but…some of these weapons we’re talking about? Who knows,” McGlynn said.
The question before McGlynn is whether banning semi-automatic guns like the AR-15 violates people’s Second Amendment right to bear arms. In 2020, McGlynn indicated he was a member of the National Rifle Association, which is financially backing the plaintiffs challenging the ban, and a former member of the Illinois State Rifle Association, which is listed as a lead plaintiff in the case.
In his closing arguments Thursday, plaintiffs’ attorney Andrew Lothson said American citizens commonly acquire semi-automatic guns for self-defense purposes, and will often seek training on how to use them safely. He argued that high-capacity magazines that hold more bullets are crucial to effective self-defense.
“Anytime you have to change a magazine, you’re vulnerable,” Lothson said. “Someone has to cover you. In most self-defense situations, there is no one there to cover you. You’re on your own.”
Attorney Kathryn Hunt Muse with the state attorney general’s office, however, argued the law was necessary to help prevent mass shootings that are often perpetrated by shooters using semi-automatic weapons. She said the ban restricts these military-grade, “dangerous” firearms in an effort to “protect people’s lives.”
“[The plaintiffs’ case] wasn’t enough for a preliminary injunction and it’s not enough now,” Muse said.
A debate over what qualifies as a military-grade weapon
The plaintiffs’ goal this week was to show there is a meaningful difference between military-grade guns and the semi-automatic weapons now banned under Protect Illinois Communities Act. They argued the guns targeted by the act are commonly used by civilians. The gun rights advocates called two military veterans to the stand.
Steven Watt, a former colonel with the National Guard who now heads a business in Utah that offers firearms self-defense training to civilians, called SRW, Inc in , testified that semi-automatic rifles, like the AR-15, are the most popular choice of weapon for people taking his courses, because they’re “easily maneuverable.”
Meanwhile, former Remington Arms engineer Jim Ronkainen testified there was a strong demand from the general public for semi-automatic rifles, which skyrocketed after a federal ban on those guns sunset in 2004, and Remington was investing “millions of dollars” to meet the customers’ wants.
In its effort to defend the law, the state called two retired colonels, who testified that they were trained in and primarily used semi-automatic rifles in combat, because they had better aim and were less wasteful of ammunition than fully automatic rifles.
Former Army Colonel Jason Dempsey said while he owns a semi-automatic, AR-style gun, he would not use it for self-defense in his home. Judge McGlynn grilled Dempsey about this position, asking him about a hypothetical scenario in which a “petite” woman has to defend herself from armed home invaders.
“What do we say to our fellow citizens who are faced with confrontation…often it’s a superior opponent– what rules should we force the law-abiding to live by?” McGlynn said.
A law prompted by tragedy
Democratic state lawmakers pushed the Protect Illinois Communities Act through Springfield in response to the Highland Park parade shooting in 2022 that left seven people dead and dozens more injured. The alleged shooter used an AR-style semi-automatic firearm, according to Illinois State Police.
Gun rights proponents have sought ways to overturn the ban since its enactment in January of 2023. Dozens of sheriffs have openly stated they will not arrest constituents who are caught with banned firearms. Meanwhile, gun owners, dealers and elected officials filed lawsuits in state and federal courts, challenging its constitutionality and seeking a temporary blocking of the ban.
McGlynn granted that request in April of 2023, but the 7th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago reversed that order. The appellate court maintains that semi-automatic guns are “much more like machine guns and military-grade weaponry than they are like the many different types of firearms that are used for individual self-defense,” and can, therefore, be banned for civilian use – a precedent set 16 years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark Heller case.
The high court has denied multiple requests from the plaintiffs for temporary injunctive relief, with Justice Clarence Thomas writing that they don’t want to get involved at this stage. However, if the federal appeals court “ultimately allows Illinois to ban America’s most common civilian rifle, we can — and should — review that decision once the cases reach a final judgment,” Thomas wrote.
Dane Harrel said he’s hopeful the courts will protect people’s individual rights. He’s a gun owner who works at the Scott Air Force Base, about 20 miles outside of Saint Louis. He’s also a lead plaintiff in the case. Though he wasn’t testifying this week, he sat in the courtroom gallery almost every day of the trial.
“Evil people that want to kill people will find a means to do it,” Harrel said. “I don’t think the tool ought to necessarily be the primary focus or effort to try to tamp that down.”
Mawa Iqbal covers state government and politics for WBEZ. Follow her @mawa_iqbal.
Copyright 2024 WGLT
