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Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted a ban on more than 170 semi-automatic
firearms and magazines of more than 10 rounds for rifles and
more than 15 rounds for handguns. The measure also bans various
parts for firearms and requires grandfathered guns to be
registered with Illinois State Police starting Oct. 1, 2023.
Mark Oliva, with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said
he expects action on their federal case in the weeks ahead where
they’re looking to block the law statewide. He said his members’
Second Amendment rights are being infringed by a broad ban on
commonly owned rifles such as the AR-15.
“There are over 24.4 million of these rifles in circulation
today,” Oliva told The Center Square. “And to kind of put that
into perspective, there are more of these rifles in circulation
than there are Ford F-150s on the road today.”
Oliva said most of their gun-store members are small
“mom-and-pop shops.”
“These are the people who live and work in these communities,
have deep family roots in these communities, and they want to be
able to continue to operate their lawful businesses in these
communities,” Oliva said.
NSSF is a plaintiff in one of four federal cases pending in the
southern district of Illinois federal court where they hope to
overturn the law.
For Dan Eldridge, owner of Maxon Shooter’s Supplies in Des
Plaines, sales in some instances have dropped off entirely.
“I just got off the phone with another dealer whose business is
primarily based around rifles. He does some handguns, but he’s
gone to basically zero,” Eldridge said. “And, if this continues,
well it’s going to put people out of business.”
With the ban in place, Eldridge said it’s unlikely gun owners
who want to get their firearms worked on by a gunsmith can get
the job done.
“I’ve got a full-time employee who is a gunsmith and we’ve
simply had to find other things for him to do while we wait this
out and that’s just furthered some costs, unrecoverable harm
that’s being done to my business,” he said.
Eldridge is part of a separate federal lawsuit in the southern
district of Illinois federal court from the Illinois Gun Rights
Alliance.
Other federal cases pending include one from the Illinois State
Rifle Association and a separate one that originated in state
court out of Crawford County, but was transferred to federal
court.
Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and
other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of
award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning
Newsfeed out of Springfield.
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