Macon Reporter

In a Jan. 27 Facebook post, Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) wrote that he filed a lawsuit against the new gun control law.

“I have filed a lawsuit to protect your Second Amendment rights,” Caulkins posted.

In his Facebook post, Caulkins attached a news release that goes into more detail about the lawsuit, who is named, and his intentions. “I wholeheartedly believe the new law is unconstitutional, unworkable, and political pandering. We are all concerned about halting violence of any kind, but this new law will not do that," Caulkins said. "Our lawsuit will prove that the new law is unconstitutional in the manner it was passed and the way it treats different classes of people differently. Democrats' arrogance to law-abiding citizens is offensive, and another reason people are deciding to leave Illinois. It is unfortunate that the only way to defend our rights is to go to court, but at personal cost, we will defend them.”

Those named as defendants include: Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Senate President Don Harmon and Speaker of the House Chris Welch. Plaintiffs include Caulkins in his personal capacity, a group called Law Abiding Gun Owners of Macon County, and Perry Lewin and Decatur Jewelry & Antiques.

Caulkins filed his lawsuit after an Effingham judge issued a temporary restraining order that applied to more than 800 plaintiffs in a case filed by attorney Thomas DeVore. DeVore will not be part of Caulkins' lawsuit, but the Caulkins said his lawsuit will "closely mirror" DeVore's recent lawsuit.