Daily Herald opinion: State's high court provides a victory for gun control, but the real test is yet to come

This editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

From the beginning, there was little chance the Illinois Supreme Court would overturn the state's ban on assault-style weapons adopted during the spring legislative session. It was highly unlikely the partisan-oriented court made up of five Democrats and two Republicans would invalidate legislation approved easily by the General Assembly, both of whose chambers are controlled by Democrats, and signed with much flourish by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

So, when the court's ruling came down last Friday, it was welcome news to those of us yearning for tougher gun restrictions, especially on weapons whose only purpose is to kill as many humans as possible as quickly as possible. But it was not exactly a relief.

First, it was interesting to note that while the state court's ruling generally followed expected political patterns, one Democrat joined the Republican dissenters. Justice Mary K. O'Brien's reasoning seems based more on concerns the law carved out exceptions for certain individuals, such as retired police officers, than on questions about whether restrictions by themselves are unconstitutional, but it still suggested weakness in the law.

More relevant, though, is the fact that numerous federal lawsuits protesting that the law violates Second Amendment rights remain to be decided. It's in those venues, possibly leading all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the fate of the law will finally be decided.

Robert Bevis, owner of Law Weapons & Supply in Naperville, whose suit against a Naperville weapons ban is among those awaiting federal scrutiny, described the situation bluntly in an interview with our Susan Sarkauskas.

"The only way we're going to win this," Bevis said, "is in the federal court."

The attorney for state Rep. Dan Caulkins, who along with other downstate plaintiffs brought the suit against the Illinois law, also told reporters that an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on Second Amendment grounds is still on the table.

Considering the high court's 2022 decision upholding the right to carry weapons in public, Illinoisans siding with Bevis and Caulkins have reason for hope. But, thanks to the state Supreme Court ruling, so do those who believe there is a common-sense approach to gun ownership that doesn't make mass killings an acceptable hazard in American society.

"One reason it's so important to defend our law is it establishes the groundwork for other states and for a [national] ban on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines," John Schmidt, of Gun Violence Prevention PAC-Illinois, told the Chicago Sun-Times, adding, "If we can win in federal court, that's a critical step."

For now, we have a ban in place and that, too, is a critical step. Let's hope it remains critical enough to pass muster at the next level.