Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Bullard has weighed in on the U.S. Supreme Court decision to put an Illinois law banning some semi-automatic weapons on hold. Sheriff Bullard was quoted as saying in media reports that he believes the law is unconstitutional. It’s set to go into effect on January 1st.
Bullard was quoted as saying, “The state police or someone else or the Governor can disagree with our opinion, but the law in our republic does not side with them on this”.
This past Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency appeal from a gun rights group to put the Protect Illinois Communities Act on hold, but legal challenges to the law are still playing out. Bullard said “with the court issuing the injunction many people think that suddenly means the Supreme Court thinks that the gun control ban is unconstitutional, that’s not what it means.”
The new law takes aim at high-power semiautomatic weapons, including the popular AR-15, banning their sale, manufacture and sale in the state of Illinois. Sheriff Bullard says he believes the Supreme Court will ultimately strike down the law.