WASHINGTON (February 12, 2024) – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced the filing of a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court in Harrel v. Raoul, its lawsuit challenging Illinois’ ban on numerous firearm magazines and so-called “assault weapons.” The Petition asks the Supreme Court to grant review in the case and to agree to hear the merits of FPC’s challenge. The petition can be viewed at FPCLegal.org.

“Although Petitioners are coming to the Court on an interlocutory basis, the current state of the courts of appeals on this issue and the patently erroneous nature of the decision below provide good reasons for this Court to take this case now and settle these issues once and for all,” argues the petition. “Indeed, the Seventh Circuit’s opinion virtually guarantees that nothing will be gained by waiting for final judgment. Absent certiorari, Petitioners, alongside the other plaintiffs in the cases below, will try to prove their case by presenting evidence and expert testimony aimed at satisfying the Seventh Circuit’s misguided and opaque ‘military weapon’ standard.”

“The Seventh Circuit has strayed so far from the test set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in both Heller and Bruen that the Court should not delay in stepping in to correct this grievous error,” said Cody J. Wisniewski, FPC Action Foundation’s Vice President and General Counsel, and counsel for FPC. “It is clear what the circuit has done is wrong, and the peaceable individuals in Illinois deserve to have their rights vindicated as soon as possible.”

FPC is joined in this lawsuit by an individual FPC member, two firearm retailers, the Second Amendment Foundation, and the Illinois State Rifle Association.

Individuals who would like to join the FPC Grassroots Army and support important pro-rights lawsuits and programs like these can sign up at JoinFPC.org. Individuals and organizations wanting to support charitable efforts in support of the restoration of Second Amendment and other natural rights can also make a tax-deductible donation to the FPC Action Foundation. For more on FPC’s lawsuits and other pro-Second Amendment initiatives, visit FPCLegal.org and follow FPC on Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook, YouTube.

Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs.

FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s first and largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.

FPC Action Foundation (FPCActionFoundation.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty through charitable legal action, public policy, education, and research programs.