Carbondale Reporter

In a Jan. 10 Facebook post, Illinois state Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) spoke out in opposition to the signing of the amended version of House Bill (HB) 5471.

Also called the Protect Illinois Community Act, the amended HB 5471 clarifies which high-capacity gun magazines are banned. Magazines with more than 10 rounds are banned for long guns, and magazines with more than 15 rounds are banned for handguns.

"In light of tonight’s bill signing by Governor Pritzker, law-abiding gun owners will be impacted yet again by the loss of their Second Amendment right," Windhorst said in the post. "In the United States of America, we have inalienable rights that are enumerated in our founding documents. These include our Second Amendment rights."

The legislator also noted that the nation's founding documents protect rights that might sometimes be unpopular.

"We protect the freedom of speech because sometimes, speech is unpopular," Windhorst said. "We protect the freedom of religion because some religions are not popular. We protect the freedom of the press, because sometimes, the press is not popular. The rights that we as Americans are promised in the Declaration of Independence and granted in the Constitution have been violated by the passage of this legislation and the signing of it by Governor Pritzker. The Illinois State Rifle Association has promised legal action aimed at stopping the implementation of this law. I support their effort and look forward to a favorable outcome for law-abiding gun owners.”

WLS reported that Gov. JB Pritzker signed the bill on Jan. 10, and it went into effect immediately after signing. Assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and rapid-fire devices are banned by the new law.

The National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action explained that citizens can keep their banned magazines and banned parts, but only if they register them with the state. It also urged Illinois residents to contact their legislators and tell them to oppose HB 5471.