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House Bill 5855 would ban the future sale of nearly 100
different semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and pistols and
require current owners to register them with Illinois State
Police. It also would ban the sale and possession of magazines
that hold more than 10 rounds and prohibit anyone under 21 from
getting a Firearm Owner ID card needed to own or purchase guns
or ammo.
Gun control advocates and victims of gun violence have been
advocating for passage of the law. A group named Protecting
Illinois Communities, which is the name of the proposed bill,
released an ad urging that the gun ban pass.
“We have to all wake up and protect all our children,” Mary
Dieudonne-Hill says in the ad. “We can save lives passing these
critical gun bills.”
Todd Vandermyde, a long time gun-owner rights advocate, said on
his YouTube channel opponents of the measure don’t plan to
negotiate on what kinds of guns to ban.
“You’re just educating them on how to build a better mousetrap,”
Vandermyde said. “The broader it is, the more heinous it is, the
more all-encompassing it is, the easier it’s going to be to kill
in court.”
Gun-owner rights groups vow to sue if the measure passes.
Sponsor of the bill, state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, has
said Democratic lawmakers will attempt to pass the measure in
the lame duck session before it ends Jan. 10.
“We’re seeing a lot of states move in this direction and I
believe we’ll have a constitutional bill when we pass it,”
Morgan said.
The new General Assembly starts Jan. 11. All previous
legislation expires then with lawmakers preparing to file new
bills for the next two-year term.
Vandermyde said a series of recent rulings from federal courts,
including the U.S. Supreme Court, could indicate a shift in how
the judicial branch handles Second Amendment rights.
“We will do a lot better because the broader it is, and we have
the benefit of these other decisions that are out there,”
Vandermyde said.
More hearings are expected on House Bill 5855 when lawmakers
return to the capitol Wednesday.
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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