Registration has begun this week for Illinois gun owners who must now register their so-called “assault weapons” with the State Police, while the new law bans the further sale of these firearms under legislation by Gov. J.B. Pritzker back in January.
According to WLS News, registration of guns already owned in the state is a requirement of the “Protect Illinois Communities Act.” The bill was passed in reaction to a mass shooting in Highland Park on July 4, 2022.
While the Chicago Sun Times is reporting that “Guns won’t be confiscated as a result of the new law, but the registration affidavit is still required.” Still, Prairie State gun owners and Second Amendment activists will be watching to see if that remains the case. At least one activist has hinted to WLS that many gun owners may not comply.
State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) told the Chicago Sun-Times, “Pritzker and Illinois Democrats have criminalized hundreds of thousands of legal gun owners.”
The registration period continues through the end of this year. CBS News notes “Anyone who bought such a weapon or ammunition under the act must submit an endorsement affidavit before Jan. 1, 2024.”
The report also noted that so-called “high-capacity magazines” are also regulated, but no endorsement affidavit is required.
To submit an affidavit online, they must go through a Firearms Owner Identification Card account.
“Gun owners can access their accounts through ISP Firearms Services Bureau website, or directly through www.ispfsb.com/Public/Login.aspx,” CBS said in its report.
By some estimates, there are at least 2.5 million gun owners in Illinois, but it is not known how many of them own the modern semiautomatic rifles targeted by the new law. A legal challenge to the law failed before the Illinois State Supreme Court, but opponents of the law have indicated they may take the case to federal court.
