Assault Weapons Ban Approved By Illinois Senate With Amendments

SPRINGFIELD, IL — The Illinois Senate passed an amended version of a statewide ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, sending it back to the House in the final hours of the lame-duck session.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act won Senate approval Monday evening after senators signed on to several amendments to the bill endorsed last week by a majority of state representatives.

The bill passed by a mostly party-line vote of 34-20, four more "yes" votes than the minimum needed for passage.

The legislation defines an "assault weapon" as a semiautomatic firearm that has one of a number of banned features or is included on a list of dozens of banned guns.

"The weapons on this list were designed to do one thing and one thing only: kill people in a horrible and vicious way," Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) said ahead of Monday evening's vote.

The Senate-approved bill defines "large capacity ammunition feeding device" as any magazine that can carry more than 10 rounds for a long gun, or more than 15 rounds of ammunition for a handgun.

"This will not stop the problem, but this is absolutely a step in the right direction," Harmon said. "I appreciate all of your support as we have negotiated what I believe is a much better bill than when it started. I look forward to working with our partners in the House to pass this tomorrow and to put it on the governor's desk. We'll see you in court."

The first draft of the Protect Illinois Communities Act was introduced last month by State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield). It was then amended last week during the lame-duck legislative session that comes to an end with the swearing in of the 103rd General Assembly on Wednesday.

In the wake of the the July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois House Democrats formed a working group to develop new gun legislation. Headed by Morgan, who attended the Highland Park Independence Day parade and witnessed the aftermath of the mass shooting, the group did not include any Republicans or state senators.

It resulted in the first version of the bill, which included a provision forbidding most people under 21 from legally owning a gun, as well as a ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. The age limit was dropped and the maximum magazine size was expanded to 12 in the amended version.

In addition to the definitions and bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, the act also includes an immediate ban on .50 caliber rifles and "Glock switch" or "autosear" type devices that modify the trigger mechanism of a semiautomatic gun to allow them to fire more bullets with a single pull. Despite being banned federally, such devices have become increasingly popular among operators of illegal firearms, who would be able to be prosecuted under the new state law.

The bill passed the House Friday by a vote of 64-43 with the support of a single Republican, outgoing House GOP Leader Jim Durkin, who announced shortly after the vote he planned to resign his seat this week.

On Sunday and Monday, Harmon filed three substantive Senate versions of an assault weapon ban in the form of floor amendments to House Bill 5471.

The first Senate draft, filed Sunday, did not include a provision in the House-approved bill that required current owners of guns the bill defines as assault weapons to register their serial numbers with state police.

The next version, filed Monday morning, requires firearm owners identification cardholders to register their banned guns, including the serial numbers, prior to Jan. 1, 2024.

Instead of banning magazines with more than 12 bullets for all guns, the Senate's definition of "large capacity ammunition feeding devices" includes magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds for long guns and more than 15 rounds for handguns.

Under Harmon's bill, owners of such magazines would still be able to possess them on private property with permission of the owner, at a gunsmith, firearm dealer or firing range — or while unloaded and encased while traveling to or from one of those places.

Pritzker, who has said he wants to sign an assault weapons ban in the first half of the year, issued a statement indicating Harmon's bill would be inadequate without a registry of legally owned assault weapons.

"The people of this state deserve a real assault weapons ban, one that has a real accounting of the weapons currently in circulation and a real chance at ceasing the flow of more weapons of war immediately," Pritzker said. "We need a bill that meets the urgency of now, and the current version in the Senate falls short."

Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Hillside) also issued a statement Sunday in response to the Senate proposals.

"As Speaker of the House, I will stand firm in our values and principles as Democrats," Welch said. "I will fight for the needs of Illinoisans, and I will not accept a watered-down version of legislation that falls unacceptably short of the comprehensive solutions the people of this state deserve."

Read more: Assault Weapons Ban Approved By Illinois House, Heads To Senate

A coalition of national gun control advocacy groups also urged senators to ensure the bill includes a registration requirement for existing guns.

“Ensuring all grandfathered assault weapons are quickly and clearly identifiable is a crucial step toward making assault weapon prohibitions enforceable and protecting public safety,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said in a statement. “This is a common feature of assault weapon prohibitions in other states, and is a vital tool for law enforcement and a safeguard for lawful gun owners.

Eight states and the District of Columbia currently have some form of an assault weapons ban on the books. They include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, although some face pending federal court challenges in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's broad expansion of gun rights last year. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc v. Bruen, justices found the Second Amendment protects a person's right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.

On Monday, Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson urged his members to contact their state senators ahead of a potential vote. He said the Senate proposal was getting "even more offensive" to supporters of the Second Amendment.

"This isn’t just an 'assault weapons' ban, the anti-gun politicians want to take away your grand-daddy’s shotgun like the commonly used Remington 1100," Pearson said. "The Illinois Senate is hell-bent on passing a clearly unconstitutional piece of legislation (HB 5471) changing every aspect of firearm ownership in Illinois."

Harmon's bill was filed as an amendment to a House-approved measure changing insurance adjuster definitions, while Welch filed amendments to Morgan's bill as an amendment to a Senate-approved amusement ride safety measure. Advancing legislation in such a way skirts the Illinois Constitution's requirement that proposed bills be read on three days in each chamber.

Five senators did not vote — Sen. Laura Ellman (D-Naperville), Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora), Sen. David Koehler (D-Peoria), Sen Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) and Sen. Brian Stewart (R-Freeport). Sens. Doris Turner (D-Springfield) and Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) were the lone Democratic senators to vote against the bill.

According to the bill, current and retired local and federal law enforcement officers, members of the armed forces, armed security forces at nuclear facilities and licenses private security contractors with a firearm control card.

Following the Senate's passage of the ban, Pritzker, Welch and Harmon issued a joint statement.

“After continued negotiations between the leaders, stakeholders and advocates, we have reached a deal on one of the strongest assault weapons bans in the country," said the governor, Senate president and House speaker.

“Gun violence is an epidemic that is plaguing every corner of this state and the people of Illinois are demanding substantive action," they said. "With this legislation we are delivering on the promises Democrats have made and, together, we are making Illinois’ gun laws a model for the nation.”

Update: Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Passes House, Signed By Governor