West Central Reporter

State Representative Randy Frese stated, "The United States Supreme Court has declined to hear a set of challenges to Illinois Democrats' firearms ban for now." He made this statement in a July 2 Facebook post.

"The United States Supreme Court has declined to hear a set of challenges to Illinois Democrats' firearms ban for now," said Randy E Frese, according to Facebook.

In his Facebook post, Frese shared a link to an article from the Chicago Sun-Times. According to that article, a federal judge in Southern Illinois has been preparing for a September 16 trial, which could potentially bring the law back before the Supreme Court.

Screenshot of Rep. Randy Frese's July 2 Facebook post | Rep. Randy Frese Facebook page

Justice Clarence Thomas said that state courts "must offer more guidance on which weapons the Second Amendment covers." He made this statement on July 2 when the court announced it would not hear the challenges to the assault weapons ban enacted in January 2023.

Reporting on the decision not to hear the challenges, CBS News stated that Supreme Court justices declined to block the law in addition to not hearing those challenges. CBS reported that Justice Samuel Alito would have heard the case on the ban’s constitutionality. "It is difficult to see how the Seventh Circuit could have concluded that the most widely owned semiautomatic rifles are not ‘Arms’ protected by the Second Amendment," wrote Thomas.

House Bill 5855, also known as the "Protect Illinois Communities Act," regulates the sale and distribution of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches, according to information from the Illinois State Police page on the act itself. Individuals who owned these items prior to the Act going into effect were required to submit an endorsement affidavit through their Firearms Owner Identification Card account.

Rep. Randy Frese is the State Representative for Illinois' 99th District. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Applied Sciences/Agriculture at Western Illinois University and subsequently worked as a sales and service representative for White Farm Equipment. He later became an industrial minerals salesman and eventually built his own businesses in Adams County. Frese and his wife are members of the Adams County Farm Bureau, and he has served on various boards including those for Adams County Fair and Quincy Catholic Charities.