Governor J.B. Pritzker | Courtesy photo
Governor J.B. Pritzker | Courtesy photo
Governor J.B. Pritzker on Jan. 11 signed into law a gun bill supporters are touting as one of the nation’s toughest bans on military-style firearms.
“Illinois now officially prohibits the sale and distribution of these mass killing machines and rapid-fire devices,” said Pritzker. “I’m signing this legislation tonight so that it can take immediate effect and we can end the sale of these weapons of war.”
Pritzker signed the measure into law after House Democrats passed it by a 68-41 vote and just hours after Senate Democrats approved it 34-20, ignoring warnings from Republican lawmakers and gun-rights advocates that the new law would be ruled unconstitutional and would face a legal challenge.
Illinois is now the ninth state in the country to ban military style firearms, with the effort to enact the ban here accelerated in the wake of the Fourth of July shooting in Highland Park where an AR-15 shooter opened fire on an unsuspecting crowd killing seven and wounding 48.
The new law immediately bans the delivery, sale, import and purchase of assault weapons, and as of Jan. 1, people who possess an unregistered firearm falling under the ban umbrella face a misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses.
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