DOJ Files Amicus Brief Against Illinois Assault Weapons Ban: A Civil-Rights Reversal
The Department of Justice, under the current administration, filed an amicus brief supporting the NRA-backed challenge to Illinois' assault weapons ban in the Seventh Circuit—a stark reversal of the federal government's historic role in protecting communities of color from gun violence. This move aligns with Project 2025's blueprint to hollow out the Civil Rights Division and abandon pattern-or-practice enforcement, leaving Black and brown communities most harmed by gun violence without federal defense.
On June 17, 2025, the Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in Barnett v. Raoul supporting the NRA-backed constitutional challenge to Illinois' Protect Illinois Communities Act, which bans assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. This marks a departure from past DOJ positions on state gun safety laws, but the brief's legal reasoning—centered on Second Amendment arguments under Bruen—does not directly address civil rights enforcement capacity. The filing aligns with Project 2025's broader blueprint to reduce the Civil Rights Division's role, but the immediate effect is a legal argument, not a resource diversion. The rule of law requires a DOJ that defends equal protection; this brief instead undermines a democratically enacted law that communities of color advocated for as a public safety measure. Congress and the courts should scrutinize this shift, and advocates must continue demanding robust civil rights enforcement.
The humanitarian alternative
Congress should enact a federal assault weapons ban that mirrors the provisions upheld here, closing the loopholes this ruling leaves open. Additionally, the Department of Justice should prioritize enforcement of existing federal gun laws and fund community violence intervention programs proven to reduce shootings. This approach would provide uniform protection nationwide and preempt the patchwork of state laws that the current Supreme Court framework invites litigation over.
Falsifiable predictions
What this entry claims will happen, and what data would prove it wrong. The Reckoner revisits these against current reality.
- The Supreme Court will grant certiorari in Barnett v. Raoul and rule against the Illinois ban within 18 months.
- At least one other federal circuit will issue a conflicting opinion on a similar assault weapons ban within 12 months, deepening the circuit split.
Original source — excerpted
news Federal appeals court upholds controversial Illinois ban on semiautomatic guns"NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! A federal appeals court upheld a controversial Illinois gun control law that largely bans assault weapons. The U...."