East Central Reporter

In an Aug. 11 Facebook post, Rep. Adam Niemerg reacted to the Illinois State Supreme Court's decision regarding the semi-automatic firearms ban. The court issued a 4-3 decision upholding the law on Aug. 11.

"This law unequally applies the law by granting some FOID card holders the right to bear certain types of firearms but denies that same right to others. And it violates the Second Amendment," Niemerg said. "It violates Article IV Section 8 (d) of the Constitution, which requires all bills to be read three times. If the ruling class in Illinois had even a shred of honesty and decency, the rights of honest citizens would have been protected today."

On Aug. 11, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the Protect Our Communities Act, which was also known as House Bill 5855, and was signed into law on Jan 10, 2023. It was intended to go into effect on Jan. 10, 2023, but was put on hold as legal challenges worked through the courts, including this case, filed by Rep. Dan Caulkins as an individual, a Decatur pawn broker, and like-minded Macon County gun owners. The Associated Press reported: “In a 4-3 decision Friday, the high court found that the Protect Our Communities Act does not violate the federal Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the law nor the state constitution’s bar on special legislation. The court also decreed that state Rep. Dan Caulkins, a Decatur Republican, a Decatur pawn broker, and like-minded Macon County gun-owners who brought the lawsuit had earlier waived their claims that the law infringes on the Second Amendment to own firearms and could not raise it before the Supreme Court.”

The Illinois State Supreme Court's 4-3 decision, with dissents, is available here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23905756-illinois-semiautomatic-weapons-decision

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that "The suit from state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, was part of a flurry of challenges to the constitutionality of the law after it was signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Jan. 10. A second lawsuit is still pending before the justices and other challenges are still being fought in federal court."

In February, Niemerg spoke out against House Bill 5885. The East Central Reporter published a piece focusing on the state representative’s reaction to the bill. It said: “They believe they have finally solved the crisis,” he said in the statement, quoted by the East Central Reporter. “But, what is the basis for their claims? We have some of the most stringent gun control laws in the country, yet crime is still a major issue in the state of Illinois.” Niemerg also questioned how the law will accomplish everything its supporters claim it will do, adding that if gun control were a solution, the problem would have been solved years ago. “Gun control advocates in Springfield are the same people who pushed the SAFE-T Act and other policies that put habitual career criminals back on the streets,” he said. “Woke progressive states attorneys will not prosecute acts of gun violence in their counties, they'll call it mutual combat yet they will prosecute honest citizens who wish to exercise their constitutional right to keep and bear arms.”