Prairie State Wire

Litigation has been filed in federal court to overturn Illinois House Bill 5471, also known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which bans over 170 commonly owned firearms. 

The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), the Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc., and the Second Amendment Foundation, along with several gun owners from across Illinois have filed joint action in federal court against the State of Illinois over a sweeping gun ban enacted in early January. 

“Governor Pritzker and the legislators who voted for this law did this for self-serving political purposes and are not upholding the United States Constitution,” Richard Pearson, Executive Director of ISRA said in a statement. “The 2nd Amendment is fundamentally about self-defense, and the 14th Amendment is about not having our rights infringed. This new law makes criminals out of law-abiding citizens.” 

He argued that there could be a safer community "if the police had the resources they need, and there were stronger consequences for the non-law-abiding citizens.”

“The real problem is that there are existing gun laws that do not work because they are not enforced," Pearson said.

Of the 102 sheriffs in Illinois, 85 have said they will not enforce Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s sweeping gun ban, according to the National Review.

Pritzker suggested on stage at the World Economic Forum that a federal gun ban is needed. “The people of our state want us to increase jobs, grow the economy, you know, make sure that in my state people want to ban assault weapons. We just did that,” he said at the Davos forum, the Neighbor Newspapers reported. The governor is suggesting that the gun ban, which outlawed over 170 commonly owned guns, should be extended nationwide.

Coles County Sheriff Kent Martin was one of many sheriffs and state’s attorneys who said they would not enforce the law. “Governor J.B. Pritzker recently signed legislation requiring gun owners to register certain firearms with the Illinois State Police and pay a fee for doing so, even if the firearm has been owned for many years,” Martin said in a statement, Colion Noir reported. “The legislation also places limitations on the capacity of ammunition magazines. Neither of these actions will make Coles County safer. As a parent and law enforcement officer, I am greatly concerned about the culture of violence in our society, but placing additional requirements on law-abiding citizens will not deter criminals or reduce gun violence.”