Federal appeals court upholds Illinois's assault weapons ban, setting up a direct conflict with courts that ruled against similar laws

A divided Seventh Circuit panel ruled in Bevis v. City of Naperville on November 3, 2023, that Illinois''s assault weapons ban and Naperville''s assault weapons sale ordinance did not violate the Second Amendment. Judge Diane Wood, joined by Judge Frank Easterbrook, concluded that the banned semiautomatic weapons fell outside Second Amendment protection because they are substantially similar to military weapons reserved for armed forces. Judge Michael Brennan dissented, finding the majority''s reading of Heller and Bruen "cramped." The U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the Illinois ban while the case proceeded, allowing the law to remain in effect. The ruling created a circuit split with jurisdictions where courts had struck down similar bans using the Bruen framework.