Illinois State Rifle Association Requests DOJ Review of State Gun Laws

When President Trump issued his Executive order, Protecting Second Amendment Rights, directing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi “to assess any ongoing infringements of the Second Amendment rights of our citizens, and present a proposed plan of action to the President,” I have to admit I was skeptical, especially with regards to scope. To the extent that I think we’ll see something done that the next administration can’t undo, I remain cautiously optimistic. However, we have witnessed Bondi’s Department of Justice take action to the local level, announcing an investigation into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over CCW wait times and threatening additional investigations if other localities don’t get with the Constitutional program. Perhaps then, it is no surprise that liberty-starved Second Amendment activists living behind enemy lines are reaching out to the DOJ and the Trump administration to highlight their plight with the pinko comrades in control of Illinois. 

The Illinois State Rifle Association has a lengthy history when it comes to dealing with the state’s oppressive outlook on the Second Amendment. The organization has weathered an onslaught of anti-gun legislation, continuing to stand its ground and now seizing the oppertunity to go on offense by calling in the U.S. Attorney General and the Trump administration to assess a multitude of violations of the Second Amendment rights of Illinois’ citizens. 

“I think it’s timely that Attorney General Bondi would want to come in and talk to us… She should tackle kind of the most onerous states in the nation when it comes to anti-gun laws and so we certainly welcome anything that they want to do to kind of look at this process,” says Ed Sullivan from the Illinois State Rifle Association.

The timing couldn’t be better, as multiple Illinois gun laws are currently tied up in the state and federal litigation process, including bans on firearms in common use and the state’s authoritarian mark of the beast known as the Firearm Owner’s ID card. Of course, the issue of firearms in common use has already been decided by the Supreme Court, and historical analysis required by the High Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen should have the matter covered, but criminals have little reverence for the law, instructions from SCOTUS, or the Constitution itself. 

If you’ve ever wondered why those on the left can’t figure out that gun laws only affect the law-abiding who will follow them and not violent criminals, you need to reconfigure your thinking. Democrats understand this concept perfectly, but they empathize with those criminals as seen in their very similar patterns of behavior. Look at the constant resistance to pro-Second Amendment rulings by the Supreme Court and the destructive and violent actions of liberal activists, including recent attacks on Tesla vehicles, showrooms, and charging stations.

As of January 2023, an Illinois ban remains in effect on more than 170 semi-automatic firearms and magazines with capacities of more than 10 rounds for rifles and 15 rounds for handguns. States like Illinois, California, New York, Washington, Colorado, Massachusetts, and New Jersey have been unrelenting, challenging the Supreme Court and the current administration through increased defiance and by enacting more sweeping gun control measures since the inauguration. In the past, these states have run roughshod over their constituents and the Second Amendment without a word from the federal government whose foundational duty it is to protect Americans’ inalienable rights enumerated in the Constitution. But now, it seems that rogue states may get some pushback from the DOJ. 

“This Department of Justice will not stand idly by while States and localities infringe on the Second Amendment rights of ordinary, law-abiding Americans… The Second Amendment is not a second-class right, and under my watch, the Department will actively enforce the Second Amendment just like it actively enforces other fundamental constitutional rights,” says Attorney General Pam Bondi.

I think this may be the first time I have ever seen the federal government step in to intervene on state and local Second Amendment infringements, and it is a welcome change. I do want to stress, however rare as it seems, that this is the main purpose of our federal government, defending and upholding America’s Constitutional guarantees to its citizens. Perhaps this duty is something that a reformed ATF can be set loose on. The DOJ could direct the agency to maintain its work with FFLs and other administrative tasks but set its investigative and legal actions to work against those who violate Americans’ Second Amendment rights. I encourage all pro-gun organizations across the country, and especially in Democrat strongholds, to follow in the footsteps of the Illinois State Rifle Association and get proactive by contacting the Department of Justice and getting on Pam Bondi’s radar.