Miller v. Smith
10.13.22
Supporting Illinois’s laws regulating firearms in home day cares and foster homes.
Court: Seventh Circuit
Issue at Stake: Home day cares and foster homes as sensitive places
Summary: Miller v. Smith is a challenge to Illinois’s restrictions on firearms in home day cares and foster homes. The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois upheld the laws, rejecting plaintiffs’ Second Amendment challenge and granting summary judgment to state defendants.
Everytown filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, urging the court to affirm the district court’s decision. The brief raises three main points in arguing why the regulations are constitutional under the approach to Second Amendment cases set out in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen. First, the brief explains that the proper focus for historical analysis is the second half of the 19th century and later periods, which contain a wealth of regulations that demonstrate the constitutionality of Illinois’s laws. Second, the brief explains how Bruen’s analysis reveals that even a small number of laws can be sufficient to establish a tradition of firearm regulations—a standard the state’s robust historical record exceeds. Third, the brief argues that sensitive places are often characterized by the nature of people there, and that the court should uphold Illinois’s regulations due to the presence of vulnerable children in both home day care and foster homes.
Decision: On January 20, 2023, the Seventh Circuit vacated the district court’s decision without reaching the merits and remanded for further proceedings consistent with Bruen.