SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – The first legal challenges about the state’s new assault weapons ban are officially on the books.

One week after Governor Pritzker signed the law, two lawsuits were filed in southern Illinois. Now judges will soon start to hear arguments that the law violates the Second Amendment.    

Tom DeVore, the 2022 Republican candidate for Attorney General, filed a lawsuit in Effingham County challenging the recently signed assault weapons ban.

“No longer can the citizens sit idly by while bureaucrats destroy the very foundational fabric of our great republic,” DeVore said. “It’s an honor of my lifetime to play a role in representing the people against tyranny.”

DeVore advertised on social media last week he was accepting requests to “fight” the assault weapons ban.

The first emergency hearing for Devore’s lawsuit is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday.

A second lawsuit has been filed in Crawford County.