Illinois Assault Weapon Registration Deadline Passes As Court Challenges Remain

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Monday was the deadline for Illinoisans who own guns and magazines banned by the Protect Illinois Communities Act to register them with state police. But, just as it was before the passage of the Jan. 1 deadline, it remains unclear how many unregistered ones remain around the state.

The law was signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last January in response to the 2022 Highland Park parade shooting, but it gave owners of what it defined as assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition-feeding devices until the start of 2024 to register them.

There are 2.4 million people in Illinois with firearm owners identification, or FOID, cards. Of those, fewer than 30,000 individuals had registered a banned item with state authorities, according to the latest update from Illinois State Police.

That means about 1 in 82 FOID cardholders had complied with the law, but there is no available data on how many owned banned guns in the first place or how many chose to take them to another state rather than register their serial numbers in a state database.

The law bans rifles like the AR-15 and AK-47, as well as any that can hold a magazine with more than 10 bullets. Magazines for handguns can accommodate up to 15 rounds before becoming considered a "large capacity ammunition feeding device" and running afoul of the ban.

The act has faced challenges in state and federal court. So far, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down one of them last summer in a 4-3 decision, while a panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down another.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court refused an emergency appeal from a gun rights group to intervene ahead of the registration. That news was welcomed by 57th District Rep. Bob Morgan, who represents Highland Park in the Illinois House and sponsored the gun ban.

"While we are grateful for our success today, we know the radical, MAGA Republicans and their NRA allies won’t give up," said the Deerfield Democrat, asking supporters for donations in the wake of the ruling. "They’ll file further court challenges and try to elect more extremists at every level to strike down common-sense firearm laws."

Richard Pearson, the executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, said in a statement that the law was so poorly written that state police are unable to answer simple questions about it. The gun owners advocate said the governor had intended to create "mass confusion" when he signed the law.

"Historically, registration has led to confiscation, and as an individual gun owner, you must choose the best option for you. We respect that," Pearson said. "We are currently preparing an appeal to the United States Supreme Court, asking the Supreme Court to declare the entire law unconstitutional. We believe the court will rule in our favor."

Last month, the Southern Illinois judge who had blocked enforcement of the gun ban before getting overruled on appeal by the 7th Circuit declined to strike down the registration requirement.

On Thursday, that same judge is scheduled to hold a status hearing on another challenge alleging the gun registry is an violation of the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

On Jan. 16, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, or JCAR, the bipartisan group of lawmakers who meet to review rules for state agencies, meets to consider permanent registration rules.

The current, emergency registration rules that the Illinois State Police implemented when registration began in October are in place until the end of February.

Many cities and counties in the Chicago area have had ordinances on the books for years banning assault weapons.

But they have hardly, if ever, been enforced because most of the time law enforcement encounters a restricted assault weapon they are either being used by someone who does not have a FOID card or is committing some other crime.

Nearly three quarters of Illinois sheriffs came out against the law last year, declaring they would not enforce it. None of them have publicly reversed course.

Pritzker characterized it as "political grandstanding" and pledged that state police would still be able to penalize those who violate the gun and magazine ban.