Governor J.B. Pritzker responded to the growing number of county sheriffs who say they won’t enforce the new ban on assault weapons, while one area sheriff has remained quiet on the issue.
Pritzker signed the measure into law on Tuesday that prohibits the sale of assault rifles, rapid-fire devices, and magazines over 12 rounds, and would require those currently owning an assault weapon to have the serial number recorded along with their FOID Card information with the Illinois State Police.
Joining the growing list of Sheriffs across the state saying they won’t enforce House Bill 5471, known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act were officials in Brown, Cass, Calhoun, Greene, Menard, Macoupin, Pike, Sangamon, and Scott Counties in the WLDS/WEAI listening area.
The letters, which mostly share a common language or theme, say the new law infringes on the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and until the Supreme Court has made a ruling, they will not enforce the law, especially the portion requiring weapons owners to register their guns.
During a press conference at the State Veteran’s Home in Quincy today, located in Adams County where the Sheriff has also rebuked the ban, Pritzker had strong words for those who are refusing to follow the new law.
“They took an oath of office, to uphold the law. As law enforcement, that’s their job, and I expect them to do that job. You know, you can have all the resolutions and declarations that you want. The reality is that the laws that are on the books you don’t get to choose which one’s people are going to follow.
You don’t get to decide I’m going to drive 150 miles per hour on the highway, and there should be no consequences, and the same thing is true about carrying out the assault weapons ban and the ban on high capacity magazines and also switches that are changing regular guns into essentially machine guns or automatic weapons.”
Gun rights groups in Illinois say at least one lawsuit against the ban will be filed as early as next week. WLDS News reached out for comment from Morgan County Sheriff Mike Carmody and his office today, which has remained quiet on the issue since the bill’s passage.
A Sheriff’s Office official told us late this afternoon that Sheriff Carmody would be releasing a statement on the matter tomorrow.