Gun rights advocates question proposed assault weapons registration
rules
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[November 03, 2023]
By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Police are facing pushback from gun
rights advocates over proposed rules requiring owners of certain
firearms to register them before the end of the year.
ISP is in the process of adopting new rules to implement part of the
state’s new assault weapons ban – officially named the Protect Illinois
Communities Act.
That law, which lawmakers passed in January, prohibits any new sales or
purchases of firearms defined as “assault weapons,” large-capacity
magazines and certain kinds of gun attachments. But it says people who
already owned those items before the law took effect are allowed to keep
them, as long as they register them with ISP before Jan. 1.
About 50 people turned out for a public hearing Thursday in Springfield
to comment on proposed rules to implement the registration portion of
the law. One of those was state Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, an
outspoken opponent of the assault weapons ban, who asked what the state
intends to do with people who refuse to register their weapons.
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“Hundreds of thousands of people will absolutely not comply,” Halbrook
said. “It is up to the governor and the legislature to truly decide if
they're prepared to declare war on law-abiding gun owners or not. One
thing will be certain. This we will defend: the right to bear arms shall
not be infringed.”
The law was passed during a special lame duck session of the General
Assembly in January. It came in response to a mass shooting last year at
an Independence Day parade in Highland Park that left seven people dead
and dozens more injured and traumatized.
The alleged shooter in that massacre is said to have used a Smith &
Wesson M&P 15 semiautomatic rifle equipped with three 30-round
magazines.
But some of the people who spoke or submitted comments at the public
hearing argued that the law, and the proposed rules, apply to a wide
range of firearms and accessories, many of which are in common use by
hunters and sportsmen. They also argued that language in the law, which
ISP has noted is “very broad,” makes it difficult to know what items are
being regulated and what items are exempt.
Although officials at ISP have tried to address those technical
questions and concerns with information on its website, those who
conducted Thursday’s public hearing were unable to provide immediate
answers to many other questions.
“It was frustrating at times,” Josh Witkowski, a lobbyist for the
Illinois Federation of Outdoor Resources, said in an interview after the
hearing. “You come hoping to get answers and instead get told ‘put your
questions in writing.’ It's a little frustrating to come to a public
hearing and be told ‘just submit it in writing.’”
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![](../images/110323PIX/news_a1.jpg)
Gregory Magnuson, an Illinois resident, testifies at a public
hearing Thursday in Springfield in opposition to proposed rules that
would require owners of certain kinds of firearms to register them
with the Illinois State Police to be able to legally keep them.
(Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Nov/03/images/ads/current/peasley_lda_051513.png)
Witkowski said gun owners are looking for answers “sooner rather than
later” given the fact that registration must occur by Jan. 1.
“And a lot of these firearms, they (gun owners) don't realize have to be
registered under the incredibly expansive definitions in the act,” he
said.
Gregory Magnuson, an Illinois native who said he moved back to the state
in 2021 after living in California for several years, predicted the law
will prompt many gun owners to leave Illinois for more gun-friendly
states.
“Illinois’ decision to enact the same type of poorly written reactionary
gun ban as California will drive any gun owner out of the state who's
able to leave,” he said. “Illinois is surrounded by gun-friendly states
that would gladly receive patriotic taxpayers as new residents.”
According to data maintained by ISP, there are more than 2.4 million
Firearm Owner Identification card holders in Illinois, although not all
of them own firearms covered by the assault weapon ban. As of Thursday,
only 2,430 individuals had submitted registrations since the agency
began accepting them on Oct. 1.
But State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, a lead sponsor of the bill, said
at an unrelated event Thursday that he believes people who own such
weapons will eventually comply with the law.
“This is new for the state of Illinois. … Historically, we’ve registered
people with our FOID card registration,” he said. “This is the first
time we’re registering weapons themselves. I also think there are a lot
of individuals who have these weapons that are considering whether to
sell them to someone out of state, which is a provision in the law that
they’re allowed to do.”
Morgan acknowledged that many gun owners may also be waiting for a final
decision from federal courts about whether Illinois’ assault weapons ban
is constitutional. One federal judge in the Southern District of
Illinois has ruled the law is unconstitutional, but two judges in the
Northern District have ruled that it is not. Those decisions are now
under review by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and may eventually
be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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ISP is scheduled to hold another public hearing at 9:30 a.m. Friday at
the Michael A. Bilandic building in Chicago. A final hearing is
scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 6, at the Caseyville Community
Center in the Metro East town of Caseyville.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news
service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of
newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by
the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation,
along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation
and Southern Illinois Editorial Association. |