Throughout four days of testimony, a central issue has been whether the weapons and equipment covered under the law are commonly used in American society for lawful purposes such as self-defense, and thus protected under the Second Amendment, or military-grade weapons that state and local governments can more easily keep out of civilian hands.

A firearms expert testified Wednesday that the weapons restricted under Illinois’ assault weapons ban include many of the most common firearms that American consumers use for self-defense. Steven Randall Watt,

Thursday was the final day of a trial challenging the law, passed in response to the 2022 mass shooting in Highland Park.

A federal judge invoked images from the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, on Thursday at the end of a trial in a case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines.

Judge Emily Tobolowsky denied a request by Attorney General Ken Paxton to block the policy, which would prevent license to carry holders from bringing guns onto the fairgrounds.

Attorneys for the state of Illinois called their first witness to the stand in the trial against the state’s gun and magazine ban. Illinois banned the sale and possession of more than 170 semi-automatic firearms and magazines over certain capacities in January 2023.