Recent Rulings Show Illinois Prohibition Could be in Jeapardy
On December 2, 2026, the United States Supreme Court will hear argument in Viramontes v. Cook County, a challenge to Cook County’s ban on AR-15-style rifles. As we have previously covered, the US Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen has drastically altered how courts enforce laws related to firearms and recognize rights protected under the Second Amendment in this country, with Illinois’ controversial law potentially next in line. The case arrives at a moment when lower courts are stretching the meaning of “arms” well past firearms as protected under the Second Amendment. Recently the Fifth Circuit held that the federal law restricting interstate commerce in switchblade knives violates the Second Amendment and a federal judge in the Western District of New York struck down that state’s ban on civilians owning body armor. Some pro-gun rights groups are predicting that Illinois’ ban on AR-15 style rifles could be the next gun control regulation that Court’s overturn in favor of the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Viramontes challenges Cook County’s Blair Holt Assault Weapons Ban, which the Seventh Circuit upheld in an earlier challenge to the ordinance finding that AR-15-style rifles are similar enough to military machine guns that they fall outside the class of “arms” the Second Amendment protects. Now the Supreme Court is going to analyze that reasoning, and that of a similar ban in Connecticut, which will have large ramifications across the United States and for criminal defendants.
Should the Supreme Court strike down the regulation restricting/abolishing AR-15s, it would not just affect lawful gun owners but also be a basis for challenging criminal charges built on those bans and on any similar restrictions that form the basis of a criminal charge/conviction. Any decision could dramatically affect how Illinois state and federal prosecutors charge these crimes and what hurdles they must jump in bringing any prosecutions, along with determining what if any challenges criminal defense attorneys might bring to firearms related charges. If you have been charged with a gun or weapons offense in Cook County or anywhere else in Illinois or the country that currently bans AR-15 purchases and possession, the outcome of this case could have dramatic consequences. An experienced criminal defense attorney can evaluate whether a Second Amendment related challenge should be part of your defense.
