Federal judge temporarily blocks Illinois' assault weapon ban

April 29 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Illinois has ruled the state cannot yet enforce a previously passed law banning assault-style weapons, among other gun control measures.

U.S. District Court Judge Steven McGlynn on Friday granted an injunction "to prevent the enforcement of Illinois' Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA), until there can be a final determination of the merits as to the law's constitutionality."

Passed in January, the law would ban high-powered, assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. It would also prohibit the sale, manufacture, delivery and purchase of assault weapons across the entire state.

"No Illinoisan should have to go through life fearing their loved one could be next in an ever-growing list of mass shooting victims," Gov. JB Pritzker tweeted, after signing the bill five days after it was sent to his desk.

The new laws were challenged almost immediately by groups arguing they violated the Constitution's Second Amendment.

The legislation was crafted in the wake of a mass shooting north of Chicago during an Independence Day parade last year, which drew national attention.

The parents of suspect Robert Crimo III have also been charged in the case, for helping him acquire weapons.

"The Court recognizes that the issues with which it is confronted are highly contentious and provoke strong emotions," McGlynn wrote in his concluding remarks.

"Again, the Court's ruling today is not a final resolution of the merits of the cases."

McGlynn, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump, cited previous Supreme Court decisions that rolled back state legislation.

"The Supreme Court in Bruen and Heller held that citizens have a constitutional right to own and possess firearms and may use them for self-defense. [The ban] seems to be written in spite of the clear directives in Bruen and Heller, not in conformity with them," he wrote.