Pro-Gun Group Files Restraining Order Over Naperville Semi-Automatic Weapons Ban

NAPERVILLE, IL — The National Association of Gun Rights (NAGR) recently filed a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the City of Naperville in an attempt to overturn the city's ordinance banning the sale of semiautomatic rifles.

The motion is led by gun shop owner Robert Bevis, according to NAGR. The organization and Bevis, who owns Law Weapons and Supply on Aurora Road, filed a lawsuit against Naperville in September asserting that the ordinance was unconstitutional.

In August, Naperville city council members voted 8-1 to ban the sale of specific high-powered assault weapons. The issue of assault weapon sales was first raised at a city council meeting in mid-July following the mass shooting that claimed the lives of seven people and injured dozens more at a Fourth of July Parade in Highland Park.

In a news release Friday, NAGR President Dudley Brown said, "We're filing this motion for temporary restraining order to stop the City of Naperville from putting NAGR member Robert Bevis out of business by trampling on his Second Amendment rights."

Brown contended, "Under the Second Amendment and the Supreme Court's Bruen ruling, the city doesn't have a leg to stand on and we look forward to stopping their outrageous schemes in court."

The motion filed by NAGR refers to assault rifles as "banned weapons," asserting that the phrase "assault rifles" is "a rhetorically charged political term meant to stir the emotions of the public against those persons who choose to exercise their constitutional right to possess certain semi-automatic firearms that are commonly owned by millions of law-abiding American citizens for lawful purposes."

The motion further contends, "The Ordinance infringes on Plaintiffs’ right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment. Defendant denies these contentions. Plaintiffs desire a judicial declaration that the Ordinance, facially and/or as applied to them, violates their constitutional rights. Plaintiffs should not be forced to choose between risking criminal prosecution and exercising their constitutional rights."

A hearing regarding the motion was set for Nov. 21.

"We are aware of the filings and anticipated that there would be legal challenges, but at this point we do not have any comment," Naperville spokesperson Linda LaCloche told Patch in a statement on Friday.

NAGR also filed a lawsuit against the city of Highland Park in September, contending the city's ban on some semi-automatic rifles and magazines is unconstitutional. The hearing for NAGR's motion for a preliminary injunction against Highland Park is set for March 8.