Gov. JB Pritzker warned that law enforcement “will in fact do their job” on enforcing Illinois’ new gun ban or else they “won’t be in their job” as some sheriffs have announced they will not enforce it.
Some counties across the state said they will not enforce a gun ban and will not comply with a looming registry.
Pritzker said Illinois State Police will be responsible for enforcement.
“As are all law enforcement all across our state and they will in fact do their job or they won’t be in their job,” Pritzker said.
While Pritzker said he is confident the law will survive a legal challenge, Guns Save Life Executive Director John Boch said it is unconstitutional and they will prove it in court.
“This thing is going to be blocked by sometime early February at the latest, and it’s gonna be done at that point,” Boch told WMAY Wednesday.
“There’s already Supreme Court precedent on this. There’s already other states that have tried to do the same thing that have been shut down,” Boch said.
Boch said multiple gun-owner rights groups have banded together to file multiple challenges in federal court as early as next week.
McHenry County Sheriff Robb Tadelman issued a statement Wednesday after Pritzker signed House Bill 5471 into law Tuesday evening.
“The right to keep and bear arms for defense of life, liberty and property is regarded as an inalienable right by the people,” Tadelman said.
“I, among many others, believe that HB 5471 is a clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution,” he said.
Tadelman said that the sheriff’s office would not be checking to ensure gun owners register their weapons are registered with the state.
He also said the sheriff’s office would not be arresting or holding individuals that have been charged with solely non-compliance of the new law.
Pritzker, surrounded by lawmakers and gun control activists, signed the bill, also known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act, into law at the Illinois Capitol Rotunda.
The act bans the sale and distribution of high-capacity weapons in the state effective immediately.
“For the past four years, my administration and my colleagues in the State Capitol have been battling the powerful forces of the NRA to enshrine the strongest and most effective gun violence legislation that we possibly can,” Pritzker said.
“I couldn’t be prouder to say that we got it done. And we will keep fighting — bill by bill, vote by vote, and protest by protest — to ensure that future generations only hear about massacres like Highland Park, Sandy Hook, and Uvalde in their textbooks,” he said.
In addition to banning semi-automatic weapons, House Bill 5471 also caps sales of high-capacity ammunition magazines, bans “switches,” which convert handguns into automatic weapons.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner and The Center Square both contributed to this report.