State Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) was one of the few who spoke out against sweeping gun control legislation before it passed the Senate and was signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The bill became law last Tuesday.
“I think folks at home need to know and folks here in the chamber that many of the commonly used semiautomatic shotguns will still have to be registered as assault weapons,” Bryant said on the Senate floor. “So even though some may come off, we're still going to have many commonly used shotguns that will be listed as assault weapons, although there was some changes to the telescoping mechanisms on a gun stock. You still cannot have the thumb hole or the pistol grip, which can often be very important to women who are shooting because it helps you to steady the firearm.”
Despite the time constraint, Bryant did not hold back in questioning the bill.
“I did notice that we have a bill, will probably here tomorrow that allows individuals to change their name. That would include several different charges, but in particular, child sex offenders and arsonists are going to be allowed to change their names so that nobody can trace them. But law-abiding citizens will be on a list, or a database for what? For what? Because they're exercising their Second Amendment right to own a firearm. And let's face it, on these databases, or if it's a boy designation or whatever it is, a year and a half ago, the FOID system got hacked. So we're still seeing repercussions from that, those FOID information being hacked and trying to get past that.”
The so-called Protect Illinois Communities Act outlaws several commonly owned types of firearms and magazines. As many as 5 million firearms and 10 million magazines in the state may be affected. Gun rights advocates long vowed to seek legal relief should the bill pass, Chicago City Wire reported.
The bill received no votes from the state’s GOP senators, according to The State Journal-Register. In the House, it received only the support of outgoing Minority Leader Jim Durkin, who oversaw a disastrous election campaign in 2022, including spending big on campaign in-fighting that depleted GOP accounts prior to the general election.
When considering options on how to combat the bill, many have pointed to the precedent New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen decision levied by the U.S. Supreme Court in June. That landmark case overturned a New York state law that required those seeking to conceal-carry firearms to show a demonstrable need to defend themselves. That case opened up more rights for gun owners nationwide and required New York to allow more rights for concealed-carry holders. It invalidated laws in other states as well, seeking additional documentation on why a gun owner seeks to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
The law immediately outlaws over 100 types of firearms currently legal in the state, as well as extended clip magazines, Kankakee Times reported. In recent weeks, local county boards have said they will not enforce the sweeping gun ban that Pritzker signed into law. Illinois currently has around 70 sanctuary counties in which gun owners' rights have been underscored at the county level.
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