Appeals court upholds restraining order on Illinois gun ban

By JOHN O’CONNOR
AP Political Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois appellate court has upheld a temporary restraining order on enforcement of the state’s three-week-old law banning semiautomatic weapons. A three-judge panel for the 5th District Appellate Court on Tuesday affirmed the restraining order issued Jan. 20 by an Effingham County circuit judge. The state’s attorney general plans appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court. The law was enacted largely in response to the mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. It prohibits the manufacture or possession of semiautomatic handguns and rifles and says existing guns must be registered with state police,