Illinois lawmakers are tightening the screws on gun control with a new mandate for gun owners. Under the recent bipartisan decision, residents who owned specific high-powered firearms before the state's ban are required to register those guns by January 1 or face potential criminal charges. The move comes as the state grapples with the controversial assault weapons ban that went into effect over a year ago, on January 10, 2023.
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) approved the guidelines, but not without pushback. Co-chair and Republican State Rep. Ryan Spain criticized state police for their last-minute filing of proposed rules, an action which, he believes, left gun owners in the bind over understanding "this very complicated and conflicting legislation," as the Chicago Tribune reported.
Labeled by state Sen. Don DeWitte as legislation that initially "made criminals out of law-abiding citizens," the rules surrounding the gun ban continue to draw sharp criticism from Republicans. According to comments DeWitte made after the JCAR hearing, many in his camp regard the law as a breach of constitutional rights. At the federal level, however, the ban has managed to withstand legal scrutiny, with state police indicating a plan to destroy gun registration data if the legislation is overturned, as outlined by the Tribune.
Nevertheless, the gun ban has seen a slow uptake in compliance. Only 29,357 individuals had registered the nearly 69,000 prohibited guns and over 42,000 associated accessories by the end of last year, a minuscule fraction given the 2.4 million FOID card holders in Illinois. The law targets certain semi-automatic rifles, handguns, shotguns, and high-capacity magazines, a spectrum echoing the federal definition of so-called assault weapons which, the National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates, number over 24 million in circulation across the United States since the early 1990s, according to Capitol News Illinois.
Giving some reprieve, the law does allow for Illinois residents who owned such weapons before the ban to register and keep them, provided they submit an endorsement affidavit through their Firearm Owner's Identification Card account before the looming January deadline. The specifics of the law and the subsequent legal uproar, spurred by a mass shooting in Highland Park last year, remain a hotbed of contention as the state’s gun owners and opposing politicians question the law's infringement upon Second Amendment rights. With judicial battles underway and Illinois Supreme Court involvement, the rhetoric and legal arguments are as volatile as the weapons at the law's core.
