Illinois House Sends Gun Bill to Senate

The Illinois Common Meeting moved nearer to a so-called “assault weapon” ban when the state Home of Representatives handed the Defending Illinois Communities Act on a vote of 64-43.

HB 5855 is now headed to the State Senate as SB 2226, the place it’s anticipated to cross earlier than going to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has supported the laws and is anticipated to signal it into legislation. Gun rights advocates vowed to proceed their battle in opposition to the proposed legislation that the president of the Illinois State Rifle Affiliation (ISRA) calls “blatantly unlawful.”

Based on an alert on the ISRA web site, the Senate model of the invoice SB 2226 may cross earlier than Jan. 9.

“Name your State Senator instantly, at their Springfield workplace, and inform them you oppose SB2226,” the alert reads.

ISRA President Doug Mayhall, mentioned his group would sue if the invoice is signed into legislation.

“We’re positively doing that,” Mayhall instructed The Epoch Instances.

Within the State Home, the invoice was sponsored by State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-58th District). The model that handed would ban so-called assault weapons together with magazines that maintain greater than 12 rounds of ammunition. The legislation was modified barely earlier than the vote. A provision to boost the age for receiving a Firearms Proprietor Identification Card from 18 to 21 was eliminated.

It will “tighten laws to ban rapid-fire units turning weapons into totally computerized weapons.” These units, typically known as “switches,” are already unlawful beneath federal legislation.

The invoice requires an anti-gun trafficking strike pressure within the Illinois State Police. At present authorized weapons must be surrendered or registered with the state and pay a payment. Mayhall mentioned law-abiding residents shouldn’t should register legally-owned firearms as a result of the Second Modification protects firearms possession.

Mayhall mentioned registration solely serves one objective.

“Registration all the time turns into confiscation,” Mayhall mentioned.

Regulation Has ‘Pink Flag’ Provision

The brand new legislation would additionally develop Illinois’s Firearms Restraining Order (FRO) legislation. It will prolong the lifetime of a FRO from six months to 1 yr and expands the pool of individuals who may ask the court docket for a FRO.

“It will change from a member of the family (to request a FRO) and opens it as much as anybody,” Mayhall mentioned. “When you don’t like my political opinions, you possibly can unfairly give me a variety of grief.”

Details about the invoice could be discovered on Morgan’s webpage. On the webpage, Morgan wrote that the laws aligns together with his promise to cut back gun violence within the state.

“After the July 4th mass capturing, I made our neighborhood, and our state, a promise that I might do the whole lot in my energy to forestall this tragedy from occurring once more,” Morgan’s web site reads.

In that capturing, a 22-year-old man opened fireplace throughout a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Ailing. He reportedly killed seven individuals and wounded dozens extra. He’s at present dealing with greater than 117 fees, together with 21 counts of homicide. Morgan didn’t clarify how his legislation would have prevented that capturing.

GOA Calls For Motion

Virginia-based Gun House owners of America (GOA) beforehand posted an alert on its web site calling on Illinois gun house owners to take motion. GOA’s assertion warns that the restrictions may hurt lawful gun house owners and their households.

“Banning (weapons) will solely stop law-abiding residents from buying the very best firearm to defend themselves. To not point out, the requirement to register at present owned firearms is vehemently unconstitutional,” the GOA assertion reads.

Mayhall agreed. He mentioned the outline of weapons to be banned is obscure and will cowl generally used searching rifles and shotguns. As well as, he took difficulty with the declare that so-called assault weapons are unusual.

Six states and Washington, DC, at present have assault weapons bans. States with bans are California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, and Maryland.

“They wish to ban the AR-15; it’s the commonest sporting rifle within the U.S.,” Mayhall mentioned.

Michael Clements has greater than 30 years of expertise in print journalism, having labored at newspapers in Alabama, Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma. He focuses primarily on the Second Modification and particular person rights. He’s primarily based in Durant, Oklahoma.