Illinois lawmakers wasted no time in the new legislative session, taking just five days to pass major gun safety measures that include a ban on semi-automatic rifles, high-capacity magazines and gun attachments that simulate automatic fire.
In signing the legislation, which garnered a handful of Republican votes, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he wanted to “end the sale of these weapons of war,” bucking warnings from many GOP lawmakers and gun rights advocates who argued the measure was overreaching and unconstitutional. Dozens of county sheriffs have pledged not to enforce the law.
“Illinois now officially prohibits the sale and distribution of these mass killing machines and rapid fire devices,” Pritzker said at the bill-signing ceremony in Springfield, where Democrats hold a majority in both chambers of the legislature.
