Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Under Consideration After Las Vegas Shooting

SPRINGFIELD, IL — A bill introduced after the mass shooting in Las Vegas will make its way to the Illinois Judiciary - Criminal Committee this week. State Rep. Martin Moylan (D-Des Plaines) filed a bill that would ban assault weapons in Illinois just four days after nearly 60 people were killed at country music festival in Las Vegas. The legislation would make it illegal to deliver, sell, purchase or possess assault weapons and large-caliber rifles, as well as outlawing magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition and "bump stocks" that modify semi-automatic weapons to mimic the firing speed of fully automatic weapons.

The bill, which bans .50 caliber rifles and cartridges, would take effect 300 days after being passed. Exemptions would be made for weapons registered with the Illinois State Police within an allotted time frame. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

The Illinois State Rifle Association criticized the legislation, accusing "political opportunists in Springfield" of trying to exploit the Vegas shooting "to justify attacks on the rights of millions of law-abiding Illinois hunters and sportsmen. " In a statement, the group said the bill "would require the banning and forfeiture of most of the lawfully-owned firearms in the state."

In southern Illinois, a local gun dealer issued a statement objecting to Moylan's proposal. "This bill aims to strip law-abiding citizens of some of the most commonly-owned firearms in the country simply because they have some scary-sounding features or standard capacity magazines," Piasa Armory said, according to RiverBender.com. "These firearms are in common use for hunting, target shooting and self-defense throughout our state and country every day by law-abiding citizens ... Rather than passing more laws that will do nothing to decrease crime, our legislators should be focusing on encouraging the prosecution of the criminals who ignore our laws and are able to plead to lesser crimes to avoid or minimize jail time."

Moylan told the Chicago Tribune the restrictions in the bill are reasonable. "You don’t need assault rifles and .50 caliber rifles to go hunting," he said."

A similar assault weapons ban in Maryland was recently upheld by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "Assault weapons and large-capacity magazines are not protected by the Second Amendment," the court said in its ruling.

Photo credit: Jake Guild