SPRINGFIELD, IL – A stringent gun control law passed in Illinois last year has finally taken effect after overcoming numerous legal hurdles. The law mandates that owners of specific types of rifles must register their firearms with the state police or face potential arrest. The deadline for registration is set for January 1, 2024. Despite the approaching deadline, gun owners are not rushing to register their firearms.
As of November 21, a mere 3,439 owners had registered approximately 6,600 firearms they possessed before the law made them illegal to own or sell in Illinois. To put this in perspective, these registered weapons represent less than 0.1% of the 2.4 million firearms currently in the state.
Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly, during an unrelated event in Springfield, stated, “We’ll just see how the process continues to work, and we’ll share the data as we continue on a daily basis to do so.” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker echoed this sentiment, suggesting that people often procrastinate when a deadline is still a few months away.
However, the deadline for registration is not 2 ½ months away as suggested by Governor Pritzker, but rather, just over five weeks away.
Those who fail to register their firearms by the January 1 deadline could face a misdemeanor charge for a first offense, escalating to felony charges for subsequent violations. Despite this, several law enforcement officials have declared they will not pursue those who violate the law.
Following the signing of the gun ban into law, roughly 90 out of Illinois’ 102 county sheriffs issued letters stating their belief that the new gun law infringes upon the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and that they have no intention of enforcing it.