A Naperville gun shop owner wants the U.S. Supreme Court to issue an injunction lifting city and state bans on assault weapon sales until decision on a federal court ruling is issued by a U.S. Appellate Court.
The request filed Wednesday by Robert Bevis, owner of Law Weapons & Supply, and the National Foundation for Gun Rights says the bans are putting Bevis out of business and should be put on hold until lawsuits challenging Naperville’s ordinance in federal court and Illinois’ law in state court are resolved.
In the filing, which was directed to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Bevis and the foundation said 85% of the guns Bevis sells are now banned and he is being deprived of a livelihood while the litigation remains unresolved.
As a result, Bevis’ cash reserves have been depleted and he’s had to lay off employees and ask family members to work without pay. He’s also missed payments on things like his home mortgage and car loan, maxed out his credit limits and taken out loans to pay the monthly bills, the injunction request said.
If the bans remain in effect any longer, Law Weapons won’t be able to abide by the terms of its 15-year lease for its 1539 North Aurora Road store, pay equipment leases or purchase inventory, the filing said.
Bevis and the foundation had requested the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approve a temporary injunction on the bans but were denied.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall ruled in February that both the city ordinance and the state law, which essentially establish the same sales restriction, did not violate the constitution. With that ruling, Naperville began enforcing its ban on the sale of assault rifles.
The Illinois ban on the sale of certain high-powered semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity ammunition magazines remains in limbo after a downstate judge struck down the new law. The Illinois Supreme Court will take up the state’s appeal during its May term.
When Kendall’s decision was appealed to the U.S. Appellate Court, Bevis and the foundation sought a ban enforcement injunction but the Seventh Circuit declined to approve it. Filing an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court pending the appellate review is the next option available to them.
The city of Naperville declined to discuss the specifics of the filing but issued a statement saying, “Throughout this process we expected ongoing legal challenges and appeals. The city is prepared to continue to defend its ordinance which is designed to protect the health and safety of our community.”
Foundation President Dudley Brown also issued a statement in which he repeated his group’s belief that the assault weapons ban is a “blatant violation of the rights of law-abiding citizens and does nothing to address the causes of gun violence.”
“Between them, Illinois and the city of Naperville are about to drive a law-abiding gun store owner into bankruptcy just because they don’t like his business. That’s grossly unconstitutional, and we’re asking the Supreme Court to put a stop to it,” he said.