You might have already seen the headlines. Four dead and three wounded in a rash of criminal shootings in Chicago on Monday alone. What is Gov. Pritzker’s answer? Does he address the growing epidemic of violent crime in his state? Nope. Instead, he is focusing on making it harder for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves. To be specific, on Tuesday night, he signed an “assault weapons” ban in Illinois.
Illinois “Assault Weapons” Ban Signed Tuesday
Illinois becomes the ninth state to enact an “assault weapon” ban. The legislation bans the sale of supposed “military style weapons” and high capacity magazines in the state of Illinois. The legislation banning “assault weapons” passed the Illinois House in a 68 to 41 victory.
According to Fox2Now, “The ban took effect immediately, so it is now illegal to sell assault weapons in the Land of Lincoln. The legislation also caps the purchase of ammunition magazines at 10 rounds for long guns and 15 rounds for handguns. Rapid-fire devices, known as “switches,” are also banned because they turn firearms into fully automatic weapons.”
ABC News states, “Just hours after the legislation’s passage in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the “Protect Illinois Communities Act” into law during a ceremony at the State Capitol in Springfield. Supporters, some of whom were gun violence survivors, erupted with applause and cheers as the governor presented the signed document.”
Reports indicate that pending sales will still be processed, but only if the required background checks have already been started. Gun owners who have any of the firearms affected by the legislation may keep them. However, they must register them with the Illinois state police by the beginning of next year.
The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) promises to fight the legislation in court, claiming it affects nearly 2.5 million legal firearm owners in the state.
ISRA executive director Richard A Pearson said in a statement Tuesday, “Challenge accepted. The Illinois State Rifle Association will see the State of Illinois in court.”
Firearms Effected by the Legislation
You can find the bill below, and the long list of firearms affected begins on page 84. It is too long to list here, and I recommend you take a look. Quite frankly, the list is so long that it’s quicker to look at what isn’t subject to the ban.
Specifically, the following are all that is still allowed:
- Any firearm that is an unserviceable firearm or has been made permanently inoperable.
- An antique firearm or a replica of an antique firearm.
- A firearm that is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever or slide action, unless the firearm is a shotgun with a revolving cylinder.
- Any air rifle as defined in Section 24.8-0.1 of this Code.
- Any handgun, as defined under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, unless otherwise listed in this Section.
What you’ll find on the list of now unacceptable firearms are pistols with threaded barrels, AR pistols, AR-10s, AR-15s, AKs, .50 cals, some shotguns, “high capacity” magazines, and much more. Likewise, many firearms are listed specifically by name in the legislation. To be honest, it’s pretty much a gun lover’s wish list.
Read the entire list here:
Fortunately, the Illinois State Rifle Association feels that this legislation will not pass constitutional muster and will be defeated. However, until that happens, Illinois residents are subject to it and are living at the whim of criminals. Until these myopic legislators decide to empower law enforcement to enforce current laws, things will continue to deteriorate.
But I wouldn’t count on that. They only care about dismantling the Second Amendment and disarming law-abiding citizens. All the while, they could care less about gangs and thugs like these guys:
Unfortunately, I feel things are only going to get worse for citizens in Chicago before they get better. If they ever do.
Source: www.personaldefenseworld.com