This afternoon a Macon County court heard oral arguments for Dan Caulkin’s suit challenging the new gun ban in court. Caulkins’ suit challenges aspects of the new law under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Instead of using a boatload of individual plaintiffs as Tom DeVore has done in his suits, Caulkins is suing on behalf of an informal association of law-abiding gun owners. (Or that’s my understanding of it.)
Fair disclosure, I’m a (donating member) of Caulkins’ suit.
Our sad sack Attorney General Kwame Raoul is scraping the bottom of the barrel, sending a single junior assistant Attorney General lawyer to defend the four defendants named in Caulkins’ suit. It’s almost like Kwame’s not even trying. AG Raoul certainly isn’t coming out himself to deign us with his brilliant intellect and devastating courtroom skills set.
State Rep. @dan_caulkins prepares for Macon County hearing on his challenge to Illinois’ gun ban. pic.twitter.com/aOcNeESIVA
— Bishop On Air (@BishopOnAir) February 3, 2023
It was interesting how the hearing progressed. The junior assistant Attorney General kept retreating and retreating. What a joke. It was like he was there defending school segregation in public schools immediately after the Brown v. Board of Education decision had been handed down by SCOTUS in the 1950s…
State attorney Darren Kinkead acknowledged appellate court upholding Effingham County TRO is binding on Macon County. Argues against broadening restraint for entire state, saying court does not have that authority. pic.twitter.com/6bYfOViO6r
— Bishop On Air (@BishopOnAir) February 3, 2023
As the hearing progressed the junior assistant Attorney General lawyer pleaded with the court that if a temporary restraining order is issued, that it not include Dan Caulkin’s informal association. Yeah, even though Illinois law allows informal associations to have standing in court. He said it would make “compliance with the restraining order difficult.”
Defense also argued if TRO is issued, it be for named plaintiffs, not named association without list of members, which he says would make compliance with restraining order difficult.
— Bishop On Air (@BishopOnAir) February 3, 2023
Easy solution, Mr. Junior Assistant Attorney General Kinkead: We’ll just include EVERY FOID HOLDER in the informal association. That’ll make it easy for you.
Read more at The Center Square.
Also worth noting, Caulkins’ attorney filed a response to Tom DeVore’s “Application to Intervene and Motion for Injunction” in which he just gutted DeVore’s so-called “application.” I don’t have permission to share it but will post as soon as it comes.
Mr. AG should get a haircut. In court representing the State of IL isn’t a college classroom where they aging hippie professor is trying to catch a vibe with his students. And maybe work out a better grade in trade with the coeds (or the boys in today’s world…)
It doesn’t matter. Any lawyer, including Kwame, worth his salt, knows this is going up on appeal. The young ponytailed punk lawyer did NOT write the brief. He was sent cause SOMEONE had to be sent to argue it. The arguments on appeal are going to be those the big guns put in their brief. SImple enough. Why waste time on a losing motion when the win (they hope for) comes in the higher courts?
For a clever fellow, you’re showing lack of understanding of how this works, and giving your readers false hope based on it. You need to do better, chubby boy.
I am feeling pretty good about this one based solely on what is being reported here. It doesn’t sound like Mr. Ponytail had much by way of a legal argument here at all if the best he can come up with is the association argument. Full disclosure – I am also a donating member of Caulkins’ lawsuit.
The Equal Protection argument is a powerful one, and it is hard for the defendants to overcome its protections. That is as it should be. The state tends to forget that the US Constitution is not a check on the rights of individuals – it is a check on the power of the state itself. The burden lies with them to prove they are not infringing upon our freedoms.
Congrats to Caulkins. I hope Mr. Caulkins can brush away the silly DeVore thing. Hope we get some relief.
You better watch out unless you are willing to suck the Douchebag DeVore…all dissenting views will be ridiculed and shamed….follow the money…that’s your queue liberal cancer…
The “equal protection” defense/offense should include all citizens of ILL-Annoy because under IL constitution all citizens are “the militia” to defend the state from “all enemies, foreign and domestic”; at the very least, all FOID card holders in this democrat-socialist-run state.
I think Kwame da-fool Raoul is “holding back” his big gun-liars for the higher courts because he knows it WILL get to the top and he doesn’t want to “waste his time” in lower court process. I would love to see Kwame da-fool argue at the top Supreme Court, should put it on “pay-per-view” to cover expenses.