Illinois gun ban bill advances, poised to pass before end of legislature's lame duck session

Illinois lawmakers are moving forward with a proposed ban on future sales of some semi-automatic guns and magazines.
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By The Center Square Staff

Illinois lawmakers are moving forward with a proposed ban on the sales of some semi-automatic guns and magazines with more than 12 rounds.

The Illinois House early Friday morning passed the ban measure, which now goes to the Senate.

Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker expressed confidence Thursday that the ban would get a final vote. 

“I think there’s a majority, a strong majority of people across the state, that believe that we don’t need weapons of war on the streets of Illinois and that we can save lives if we pass an assault weapons ban,” he said before the House vote.

However, state GOP Rep. Dan Caulkins said poll numbers don’t negate constitutional rights like the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

“You could get polls to say anything you want," Caulkins said. "This governor’s got an agenda. He wants to run for president."

The state legislature is in a lame duck session until Tuesday, which would be the deadline for bills to pass. 

State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, rallied several dozen supporters of a gun ban Thursday.

“We’re talking about banning the sale of assault weapons in the state of Illinois,” Morgan said. “We’re talking about banning the sale of high capacity magazines that are plaguing our communities with gun violence.”

If the measure passes, already-owned semi-automatic guns would be required to be registered within 300 days of the measure's enactment. And magazines with over 12 rounds would have to be modified or disposed of within 90 days.

Violations of the magazine prohibition would be a petty offense with a $1,000 fine for the first offense and a Class 4 felony for subsequent violations. Violations of the gun registry would be a penalty of up to a Class 2 felony.

The bill exempts active duty law enforcement for the gun and magazine ban and exempts retired law enforcement from the gun provision, not the magazine ban. There are other exemptions. The measure also extends the firearms restraining order from 6 months to a year.