Peoria Standard

State Rep. Dr. Bill Hauter (R-Peoria) is keeping constituents up to date on lawsuits seeking to overturn the state’s gun ban on more than 170 types of common firearms. 

“Here is an update on the status of lawsuits filed against the gun control bill which passed a few weeks ago,” Hauter said on Facebook. 

Steven McKenzie posted in response to Hauter that he was discouraged by the actions of Democrats in the General Assembly. 

“What is truly appalling is that there are legislators who pass unconstitutional 'laws' and the citizens must use the courts to re[s]cind these 'laws.' We the People end up paying out of both sides of our pockets as a plaintiff to re[s]cind and as a taxpayer for the State's defense. It is well past time to push all the way back on any legislation repugnant to the Second Amendment,” McKenzie wrote. 

Hauter shared an image enumerating layers of lawsuits currently being considered. Of the nine lawsuits filed, most have been removed to federal court. Local cases still under consideration include those brought by former GOP gubernatorial candidate and state senator Darren Bailey and State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur).

As many as five million firearms and ten million magazines in Illinois have been banned under the law, according to Chicago City Wire. Gun rights advocates have begun litigation against the state noting it is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. Sheriffs across the state are refusing to implement the Protect Illinois Communities Act – HB 5471 – that bans over 100 commonly owned firearms. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has threatened local law enforcement for not enforcing the law despite an appellate court ruling affirming an Effingham County court’s findings that the law is unconstitutional and should not be enforced.

Hauter, a Peoria physician is the only doctor in the General Assembly. He has suggested state legislators rein in Pritzker who has been operating under executive emergency orders for nearly three years. “That is something that needs to be curtailed. Other states don't have that much power given to one man, and that's not how it was supposed to be," Hauter told Prairie State Wire. "It wasn't supposed to be that one man could decide to empty jails or to limit worship. And how many people used to have one worship service? But there's a Black Lives Matter protest, and he agrees with that? It didn't matter how many people. It was actually condoned instead of condemned, because at the same time he's saying, ‘Oh, you can't have over ten people in your worship service.’”