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A
year ago this week, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted the ban
on certain semi-automatic firearms, magazines and attachments.
The measure included a registration requirement for the now
banned guns purchased before the law went into effect. Last
month, Pritzker explained the purpose for the registry.
“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.
But
the most recent numbers of those that registered before the Jan.
1 deadline is 1.22% of the total number of Firearm Owners ID
card holders.
Dan Eldridge of Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois said
other estimates of those who actually own the now-banned guns
may bring the compliance rate to somewhere between 4% and 8%.
“These are absolute best case numbers for the state, that under
10% compliance, we think it’s close to [4%]. It’s just a mass
rejection of this act,” Eldridge said. “So, no matter how you
slice it, the compliance is very low.”
Being found with a banned firearm that is not registered could
lead to criminal charges.
Illinois State Police said they will keep the registry open, as
the law does not set forth penalties for late submissions.
“The FOID portal will remain open for people to submit
endorsement affidavits,” the agency said. “ISP is focused on
compliance and safety. While the Act set deadlines for
submitting endorsement affidavits, it does not set forth
penalties for late submissions.”
ISP has also said firearms bought during a six-day injunction
last year are illegal. Eldridge said that adds to the concerns
around the law.
“So they said they can’t change the law and then they changed
the law with respect to leaving the registration window open,”
Eldridge said. “Which is it? It’s just completely incoherent how
they’re behaving.”
On the legal front, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied
state Rep. Dan Caulkins’ petition in his challenge to the law.
Separate federal lawsuits continue. A scheduling conference in
the Southern District of Illinois federal court for one case is
set for Friday.
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