A gun rights organization has filed a lawsuit against Highland Park that targets the city’s nearly decade-old assault weapons ban, alleging, in the wake of the Fourth of July shooting that killed seven people and injured dozens of others, that the ordinance is unconstitutional.
Highland Park was among five states or cities sued Wednesday by the National Foundation for Gun Rights, including Naperville, which voted last month to ban assault weapons. The foundation is the legal wing of the National Association for Gun Rights.
Highland Park in 2013 enacted the ordinance that bans assault weapons and large capacity magazines following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Violators of the ordinance can face up to six months in prison and a fine of $500 to $1,000.
The measure came under greater attention this summer after the shooting at the city’s Fourth of July parade that sent parade attendees and marchers fleeing from gunfire. A Lake County grand jury indicted Robert Crimo III, 21, on 117 felony counts.
The mass shooting spurred renewed calls for state and nationwide assault weapons bans, including from the Highland Park City Council, which passed a resolution asking for broader bans.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Illinois, named Highland Park resident Susan Karen Goldman as plaintiff, arguing that her Second Amendment rights are violated by the city ordinance. Goldman owns semi-automatic firearms and magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition that she keeps outside of Highland Park, according to the complaint.
In Naperville, the organization filed suit on behalf of Robert Bevis, who owns a firearms store in the city. The Naperville City Council last month voted 8-1 to ban assault weapons in the city.
The group also filed suit against the states of Connecticut, Hawaii and Massachusetts.
In a statement, Highland Park corporation counsel Steven Elrod said the city is confident that the assault weapons ban is constitutional.
Highland Park’s ban has already survived one challenge. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 declined to take up a challenge, leaving in effect a 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding the ban.
Asked why the organization is suing Highland Park nearly 10 years after the ban was enacted, a spokesperson pointed to the Supreme Court’s June decision to strike down a New York law that made it more difficult for people to obtain a license to carry a gun. The 6-3 decision in New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen was cheered by gun rights advocates.
“The Bruen decision gave us a 4-ton wrecking ball to dismantle gun control laws nationwide — and we’re going to wipe out every unconstitutional law that stands in the way of law-abiding citizen’s Second Amendment rights,” Chris Stone, spokesperson for the National Association for Gun Rights, said in a statement.
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