Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, Oct. 21, defending the county's decades-old assault weapons ban ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Dec. 2.
The case, Viramontes v. Cook County, will determine whether the Constitution guarantees the right to possess AR-15 platform rifles. A ruling is expected by mid-2027, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. The outcome could reshape gun regulations across Cook County.
"The safety of our communities is at stake. There is absolutely no reason that AR-15s, AK-47s and other weapons of war that were designed to inflict mass carnage should be available to the public," Burke said in a statement announcing the filing.
The ban prohibits the possession, sale and transfer of 125 types of semiautomatic rifles, including the AR-15, according to Capitol News Illinois. It is formally known as the Blair Holt Assault Weapons Ban, named after a Chicago teenager killed in a 2007 shooting while shielding a classmate on a CTA bus.
Cook County first enacted its assault weapons ban in 1993 and has amended it since then. The ordinance is now known as the Blair Holt Assault Weapons Ban.
Who is challenging the ban
Two Cook County residents, Cutberto Viramontes and Christopher Khaya, filed the current challenge in 2021 with backing from the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation, Capitol News Illinois reported. They argue that only firearms that are "both dangerous and unusual" may be banned and that the AR-15 does not meet that standard because it is widely owned.
The Supreme Court will hear the Cook County case alongside Grant v. Higgins, a challenge to Connecticut's statewide assault weapons ban, according to Everytown. Burke's office said it is working closely with the Connecticut Attorney General's Office and collaborating with Everytown, Brady United Against Gun Violence and Giffords.
Legal history
A federal judge upheld the Cook County ban in 2018, and the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that decision in 2019, WTTW reported. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer dismissed the current lawsuit in March 2024, and a 7th Circuit panel again declined to reverse its earlier rulings, according to Capitol News Illinois.
The challengers then petitioned the Supreme Court. The high court agreed in June to hear the case, prompting Burke to pledge a vigorous defense.
Six federal appeals courts have upheld bans on assault weapons or large-capacity magazines, according to Everytown. Only one has ruled against such a ban.
Jon Seidel, federal courts reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, noted on X that the brief argues the AR-15's "purpose was for battlefields teeming with enemy soldiers, not for city blocks populated with families."
Oral arguments are set for the morning of Dec. 2, with a ruling expected by mid-2027.
