The National Shooting Sports Foundation is suing Illinois for a new state law that limits how gun sales can be advertised, claiming that the law is unconstitutional.
According to state law, marketing is prohibited that glorifies private militia and paramilitary actions or targets children, reports The Messenger.
The new state also allows a way to sue gun dealers and manufacturers if a weapon they sell or produce is used in a crime or in the event of an accidental shooting, as parties can be taken to civil court if the incident can be tied to the now illegal advertising practices. The law, the NSSF says, goes against First Amendment speech protections, Second Amendment protection of gun ownership, and the right to due process.
The NSSF, based in Connecticut, filed the lawsuit in the Southern District of Illinois Monday, two days after Gov. JB Pritzker signed it into law, reports ABC7 in Chicago.
"The flawed logic of this unconstitutional law is second only to the contempt for which the authors and Gov. Pritzker hold for the constitutionally protected right of the citizens of his state to keep and bear arms," NSSF Senior Vice President Lawrence Keane said in a media statement.
The lawsuit also claims that the new law is preempted by the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act passed in 2005 during then-President George W. Bush's administration in response to lawsuits that had been against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and firearms dealers in response to deaths or injuries from accidents or during use for criminal activity.
The law's backers, though, say PLCAA was not intended to shield the gun industry, and Illinois State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, the lead House sponsor of the bill, said the provisions were made to clarify current state law.
"This clarification is necessary to ensure that courts correctly interpret that the (Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act) falls within the predicate exception and is not preempted by PLCAA," she said, adding that the bill "ensures that the firearm industry does not get special treatment under Illinois law."
NSSF, though, says the new Illinois law authorizes people to sue gun dealers and manufacturers for damages caused by a third party, which is prohibited under federal law, ABC7 reports.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.