Prairie State Wire

The Illinois State Rifle Association is continuing its advocacy against sweeping gun control legislation included in HB5855.

The proposed measure would outlaw several commonly available types of weapons and magazines. 

“HB5855 is a perfect example of what the anti-gun crowd wants,” ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson said in a press release. “They are not hiding their intentions. HB5855 is not about fighting crime. None of these anti-gun bills have been about fighting crime but rather, they have been about disarming the American people. HB5855 and other bills like it are aimed directly at the law-abiding citizens. In fact, it is a hate crime against law-abiding gun owners.”

Pearson noted that the firearms and the features that supporters of the bill "want to ban are the best self-defense firearms and make self-defense easier." He underscored that "semiautomatic AR15s, shotguns, or pistols are the best for self-defense, target shooting, and hunting." Highlighting the Second Amendment, which "applies to everyone, rich and poor alike," Pearson added that "HB5855 would, if passed, make life even tougher for those people who are economically disadvantaged, or live in bad neighborhoods in Chicago and other cities around the state. These folks live among drug dealers, gangbangers, and criminals of all types. Some people say, 'Well just move away.' Oh yeah, and just where would that be? That isn’t so easy. The passing of HB5855 or similar bills would make everyone easy prey but the economically disadvantaged would be affected most of all. ” 

"Then, of course, is the specious argument that banning everything would be worth it even if it only saves one life," Pearson further said. "Whose life is that exactly? Such incidents that occurred in Highland Park are terrible (we won’t go into the fact that authorities missed the boat that could have prevented all that). The fact is that firearms are reportedly used over 2.4 million times a year for self-defense which undoubtedly saves thousands of lives and injuries. I have stated that I have used my firearms for that purpose. I didn’t report those times because it would only cause myself a headache.  I believe the number of times a firearm is used in self-defense is thousands of times more than reported. Is my life or your life worth less than someone else’s life? I don’t think so. Life is a dangerous game; in the end, everyone dies. HB5855 and similar bills must be stopped. Please help by joining the ISRA or if you are already a member, donate or recruit a new member. You could do both you know.”

Abraham Avalos, a survivor of the Independence Day parade shooting who rushed to the aid of others on the scene, said he left his pistol in his glove compartment that day in accordance with the law. He said the alleged gunman, Robert Crimo III, obviously did not follow the current laws put in place. “I've always known that there's always going to be people who obey laws,” he said, Lake County Gazette reported. “There's people who are not going to obey laws. There's people who are going to have respect for life. And there's people who are not going to have respect for life. I know that as a gun owner because that's why I carry. That's why I'm a gun owner, to protect my life, the lives of my family members, the lives of all of my friends and other people. That's why I'm a gun owner.”  He also called out the bills sponsor State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield), who was also at the parade, by name. “I understand why you guys support this bill. I understand (this legislation) coming from Bob Morgan. You are a nice person. The times that I met you, you really are. I understand why you think that this bill is going to help. It's not. I hate to say it to you, in my personal belief." 

HB5855 has been the topic of two hearings in the House Judiciary Committee and will see a final hearing on Dec. 20. Critics have argued the legislation will criminalize regular Illinoisans and have little effect on criminals. “I would say it’s somewhere between two and 10 million magazines, and it’s a massive impact,” Dan Eldridge, of gun dealer association Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois told The Center Square. “These are the standard magazines that come with a duty-sized pistol even, they’re the standard magazines that come with a rifle. These are not aftermarket extended capacity magazines.” Eldridge added that “With an immediate effective date, mere possession of a, and I’m not going to use their words, I’m going to use accurate words, mere possession of a standard-capacity magazine is a crime. There’s no getting around that. So you’ve got Second Amendment issues. You’ve got Fourth Amendment issues. You’ve got Fourteenth Amendment issues. You can’t do this.”

Many gun rights advocates have noted they will challenge HB5855 in court should it become law. House Minority Leader Tony McCombie told Prairie State Wire the bill is unconstitutional. “While HB 5855 is likely far from in its final form, the constitutionality of the bill will certainly go before the courts,” McCombie told Prairie State Wire.  McCombie sits on the Rules Committee which holds three public hearings on the bill.