It appears Illinois’ semiautomatic weapons ban will remain in place for the time being. The United States Supreme Court has declined to halt enforcement of the law as the cases are being argued in lower courts.

This development is a setback for proponents of gun rights. But the battle is not over yet.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued two orders this week turning down requests to block enforcement of Illinois' assault weapons ban while challenges to the law are still being heard in lower courts.

On Wednesday, Justice Amy Coney Barrett turned down a request from Republican state Rep. Dan Caulkins of Decatur and other gun rights advocates who lost their challenge to the law earlier this year at the Illinois Supreme Court.

And on Thursday, the full court issued an unsigned order denying a similar request for an injunction by the National Association for Gun Rights, one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging both the statewide ban and a local ban in the city of Naperville.

NAGR filed its request Nov. 29 while it was waiting for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to decide whether it would reconsider its earlier decision upholding the law as constitutional. But the 7th Circuit said Monday it would not reconsider that decision.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker celebrated the Supreme Court’s move, referring to it as “a historic win for Illinois communities and families.”

Taking on the gun lobby and passing an assault weapon ban was never going to be easy, but it was always the right thing to do.

Today is a historic win for Illinois communities and families. https://t.co/68FhyhBTTN

— JB Pritzker (@JBPritzker) December 14, 2023

This development comes after the state’s Supreme Court upheld the gun ban back in August, finding that it did not violate the Constitution.

In a win for the advocates of gun control, in a 4-3 decision, the Illinois Supreme Court has upheld that state’s “assault weapon” ban.

The Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the state’s ban on the sale or possession of the type of semiautomatic weapons used in hundreds of mass killings nationally.

In a 4-3 decision Friday, the high court found that the Protect Our Communities Act does not violate the federal Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the law nor the state constitution’s bar on special legislation.

The court also decreed that state Rep. Dan Caulkins, a Decatur Republican, and like-minded gun-owners who brought the lawsuit had earlier waived their claims that the law infringes on the Second Amendment to own firearms and could not raise it before the Supreme Court.

The Second Amendment claim is alive, however, in several federal lawsuits filed in southern Illinois, later consolidated and awaiting appeals court action.

Still, there is reason to be optimistic. When Illinois first passed the ban, over half of the state’s sheriffs indicated that they would refuse to enforce it, meaning that at least some gun owners in the state will have their rights protected.

Moreover, with the Bruen ruling being a reality, it does not seem likely that the law will ultimately survive the myriad of legal challenges it is facing. The Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen mandates that gun control laws be consistent with America’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.