CHICAGO — A federal appeals court in Chicago is denying a request to block Illinois’ assault weapons ban as it faces legal challenges.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request for an injunction by Robert Bevis, a firearms store owner in Naperville, while he appeals a ruling by U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall that found the ban “constitutionally sound.”

Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill in January that bans the sale of military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines in Illinois. The ban came after a gunman used an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle in the deadly mass shooting during the Highland Park July 4th parade last summer.

Bevis’ lawyers argued that his Law Weapons & Supply business suffered because of the ban and might end up closing if it can’t sell the popular guns.

In her ruling, Kendall wrote that “because assault weapons are particularly dangerous weapons … their regulation accords with history and tradition.”

Other lawsuits are still pending at the state and federal levels.