State’s Attorney Burke Files U.S. Supreme Court Brief Defending Cook County’s Assault Weapons Ban
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has filed its brief defending Cook County's assault weapons ban with the U.S. Supreme Court, a crucial step in the fight to preserve life-saving gun control measures. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case, Viramontes v. Cook County, on December 2, 2026. In addition to determining the constitutionality of Cook County’s assault weapons ban, first enacted in 1993, this case has far-reaching legal implications for the future of assault weapons restrictions nationwide.
“The safety of our communities is at stake. There is absolutely no reason that AR-15s, AK-47s and other weapons of war that were designed to inflict mass carnage should be available to the public,” said State’s Attorney Burke. “Our legal team will fight tooth and nail to preserve common sense gun safety regulations and is cautiously optimistic that our arguments will prevail.”
Eleven states, including Illinois, and the District of Columbia have assault weapons bans, and many individual municipalities have also implemented local bans. Cook County’s ban was amended and strengthened in 2013 to honor Blair Holt, a teenager who lost his life to gun violence while heroically shielding friends from gunfire that erupted on a CTA bus.
The full brief was submitted to the court on Wednesday and can be read HERE.
Selected excerpts are below:
-“When weapons are introduced into society that have the capability to perpetrate some of our most tragic and frightening crimes, from mass shootings to assassination attempts, democratically elected legislators are permitted to respond with appropriate regulation."
-“For decades, the AR-15 was acknowledged for what it was – a weapon of war – and advertisements trumpeted that AR-15s were manufactured in the same factory and on the same production line as the world-famous M-16.”
-“The velocity of a bullet fired from an AR-15 creates maximum injury potential, including fractured bones, amputations, multiple surgeries, massive blood transfusions, and ultimately, more casualties.”
-“Cook County is the second-largest county in the country ... Every day, there are festivals, concerts, sporting events, community gatherings and large family backyard parties that are susceptible to mass casualty scenarios. The AR-15's ability to travel through doors and walls coupled with its long-range lethality puts Cook County’s citizens at risk.”
-“The County recognized that assault weapons are “military style” firearms with unique capability for use in crime, a particular threat in a jurisdiction that already struggled with gun violence.”
-“Cook County’s ban passes constitutional muster because AR-15 platform weapons are offensive weapons of war designed for maximum lethality and are not customarily used for self-defense. The purpose and operation of the ban is consistent with our Nation’s historical tradition and accounts for the exceptional dangerousness of these technologically advanced weapons that have sparked immense societal concern.”
-“The danger is acute because the AR-15 platform has effectively collapsed the destructive power of an armed battalion into a single pair of hands, making this weapon the equivalent of an armed assembly.”
-“Seven of the eight deadliest attacks in the United States since 9/11 involved AR-15 platform weapons. Between 1991 and 2022, 75% of shootings resulting in more than 20 deaths involved an AR-15 platform weapon.”
-“AR-15 rounds can maintain lethal accuracy at distances far beyond those at which a handgun can be accurately fired, ‘allow[ing] criminals to effectively engage law enforcement officers from great distances, giving them a military-style advantage.’ ... An AR-15-armed shooter can therefore gun down officers and civilians alike from well outside the range at which police can return effective fire with their service weapons."
-“The AR-15 is readily convertible into a machinegun ... This includes adding a bump stock which allows the AR-15 to mimic automatic firing, or a machinegun conversion device (“MCD”), which converts it into a fully automatic weapon, capable of firing up to 800 rounds per minute.”
-“Our forebears could not have anticipated the mass production of a weapon with the destructive capacity of the AR-15, not to mention the accessories that increase its already incredible lethality. When faced with such new situations, states and localities may “respond with ‘focused regulations’ to address the threat.”
SA Burke serves as the counsel of Record for Cook County. Her legal team is working closely with the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office as it represents Connecticut, which is a co-defendant in the case and has a statewide assault weapons ban being challenged. In addition, the CCSAO is collaborating with Everytown for Gun Safety, Brady United: Against Gun Violence, and GIFFORDS to receive their support and insight through the court process.