Illinoisans have days to register banned firearms based on emergency
rules
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[December 16, 2023]
By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – In less than two weeks, Illinoisans found in
possession of banned semi-automatic firearms without registering with
Illinois State Police could face criminal penalties.
The law banning the sale and possession of more than 170 semi-automatic
firearms and magazines over certain capacities was enacted on Jan. 10.
Emergency rules for the registry were filed Sept. 15. The rules have not
been finalized by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
A federal judge has yet to release a ruling on whether to delay
Illinois’ gun ban registry. Southern District of Illinois federal Judge
Stephen McGlynn heard oral arguments in the case Tuesday. He said he’s
inclined to not issue an injunction delaying the Jan. 1 registration
deadline, but hadn’t made up his mind. Before adjourning, he said he
would issue a ruling promptly. He did not issue a ruling by Friday
evening.
Earlier in the day Friday, plaintiffs replied to the state’s motion to
dismiss the case. Plaintiffs are seeking a delay in the Jan. 1 deadline
while the case plays out on the merits. They argued the rules are too
confusing and won’t be finalized until after the registration deadline.
“As the Illinois State Police continue to tinker with as yet unfinalized
regulations governing numerous vague terms, Plaintiffs believe it is
impossible for gun owning residents of Illinois to have proper notice,
and the upcoming registration deadline could cause dramatic problems,”
plaintiffs said. “The State has thus far not offered any extensions to
that deadline even as it, in Kafkaesque fashion, will not adopt final
registration rules until after the deadline has passed. ”
On Thursday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he expected the rules to be
finalized after the deadline.
“Remember that the permanent rules are coming,” Pritzker said when asked
how the state can enforce a law with unfinished rules. “There’s another
meeting coming in JCAR in January.”
Those found out of compliance could face criminal penalties.
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“And nobody is getting charged or arrested,” Pritzker said. “The first
commission of a violation is a misdemeanor if it even gets charged. The
second violation however is a felony.”
Some state’s attorneys and sheriffs across the state said they won’t
make enforcement of the gun ban and registry a top priority.
For the case where the U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency injunction
Thursday, National Association for Gun Rights Executive Director Hannah
Hill said they hope to file a full appeal before the mid-March due date.
“When legislators, state legislators are elected that routinely and
deliberately trample on the people’s rights, the court remedies are very
slow and they’re very uncertain as we have seen,” Hill told The Center
Square.
Pritzker explained why he thinks the registry is necessary.
“You want to make sure that you know where those very, very deadly
weapons are, who owns them, when and if a crime is committed with one of
them,” Pritzker said.
The governor also said people are registering “automatic” firearms and
“high speed, high capacity” magazines. But, the registry is for
semi-automatic firearms the state banned and while magazines over
certain capacities are banned, they don’t have to be registered.
Hill said too often, those seeking to ban commonly owned firearms rarely
know anything about them.
“The more they talk about it the more they portray a woeful ignorance
about the Second Amendment and about the actual arms that are in
question,” Hill said.
Hill said the U.S. Supreme Court denying their motion for an emergency
injunction doesn’t impact their ability to continue challenges against
the law on the merits.
Since the registry opened on Oct. 1, Illinois State Police show 6,141
individuals have disclosed they own a banned firearm, attachment or
ammunition. That’s 0.25% of the more than 2.4 million Firearm Owners ID
card holders in Illinois.
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