SALT LAKE CITY, Utah July 14, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes has joined a coalition of states fighting Illinois’ six-month-old ban on the sale and distribution of assault weapons.
In a Friday press release Reyes said he has joined an Idaho-led amicus (friend of the court) brief in Barnett v. Raoul, pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
The 23-state coalition of attorneys general is supporting the suit challenging the enforcement of Illinois’ Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA), Reyes’ release said.
PICA was signed into law by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker in January 2023, banning “the sale and distribution of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches in Illinois.”
In the attorneys general brief, Reyes said they argue that “the plain text of the Second Amendment bars states from banning arms owned by millions of law-abiding Americans” and that “concealed carry laws do not justify Illinois’s total ban on commonly used arms.”
Reyes issued the following statement: “I’m proud of our state’s unwavering support for the Second Amendment, and as long as I’m Attorney General, we will continue to defend Utahns’ liberties to lawfully exercise their rights. Our coalition is on the right side of the Constitution in this case, and we look forward to a successful outcome in the federal courts.”
Joining Idaho and Utah in signing this brief were the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
