On July 9, the Seventh Circuit decided Barnett v. Raoul, upholding Illinois’ ban on AR-15 rifles. Maybe it hadn’t received the memo that the Supreme Court granted cert on June 30 on the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Viramontes v. Cook County, involving the identical issue of whether an AR-15 ban violates the Second Amendment? Deciding Barnett gives the appearance of the Seventh Circuit filing the equivalent of an amicus brief in support of its prior decision in Viramontes. (Cert was also granted in Grant v. Higgins, which concerns Connecticut’s similar ban, see my post here.)

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