Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law Tuesday night a comprehensive measure that supporters called one of the nation’s toughest bans on military style firearms.
“Illinois now officially prohibits the sale and distribution of these mass killing machines and rapid fire devices,” said Pritzker, who was inaugurated for a second term on Monday during a ceremony in the Capitol. “I’m signing this legislation tonight so that it can take immediate effect and we can end the sale of these weapons of war.”Pritzker signed the bill just hours after House Democrats led final passage of the measure on a 68-41 vote, and a day after Senate Democrats approved it 34-20.
“No single law…will end gun violence once and for all. So we must keep fighting, voting and protesting to ensure that future generations will only have to read about massacres,” he said. “It’s our burden and our mandate, one that we carry with solemn honor for our children, who will grow up in a better and safer world.”
The new law also speeds up to July from January the existing requirement for universal background checks by federal firearm dealers or the State Police for private gun sales.It also modifies the state’s current “red flag” law that allows relatives and police to seek a court approved firearm restraining order to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. The new law extends the duration of the orders from six months to a year.
State Rep. Blaine Wilhour of Beecher City, a member of the ultraconservative Republican House Freedom Caucus, accused Pritzker and majority Democrats of continuing to “allow our Constitution and our freedoms to be shredded.” House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch speaks to Reps. Theresa Mah, center, and Denyse Wang Stoneback after the passage of the gun bill on Jan. 10, 2023, in Springfield.
“Right now there are states across the country that are trying to criminalize parents for seeking medical care for their children, seeking to criminalize pregnant people from being able to make decisions about their bodies, states that are criminalizing people who are looking for help,” said state Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago.
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