New law requires Illinois residents to register semi-automatic firearms
CHICAGO - Illinois residents who own semi-automatic firearms are now required by law to register them with the state police. This registration is part of the state's ban on assault weapons.
Currently, there are approximately 2.4 million FOID cardholders in Illinois, but the exact number of individuals possessing firearms that are now banned remains unknown.
Gun owners have until January 1, 2024, to register their firearms to be "grandfathered" under the new law.
In August, the state Supreme Court upheld the legislation banning assault weapons in Illinois. Gun store owners in Illinois had argued that the ban was "blatantly unconstitutional." However, the high court found that the Protect Our Communities Act did not violate the federal Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law nor the state constitution's prohibition on special legislation.
Since Governor JB Pritzker signed the bill into law in January 2023, several lawsuits have been filed, claiming that the legislation infringes on Second Amendment rights, and some sheriffs publicly stated they would not enforce the law.
The Second Amendment claim remains active in several federal lawsuits filed in southern Illinois, which have been consolidated and are awaiting appeals court action.
The law prohibits the sale of assault weapons in Illinois and places limits on magazine capacities, capping them at 10 rounds for long guns and 15 for handguns. It also outlaws rapid-fire devices known as "switches" because they can transform firearms into fully automatic weapons.
Nine other states and the District of Columbia have implemented gun bans similar to the one in Illinois, as reported by the gun control group Brady, which monitors such legislation. California, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, and New York also require the registration of firearms purchased before the law's enactment, while Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington do not.
Illinois residents who legally owned now-banned firearms and magazines before the law took effect are allowed to keep them but must register these firearms with law enforcement.
The Illinois legislation was primarily driven by a tragic incident in which seven people were killed during a 4th of July parade in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, last year. The shooter used an AR-15 rifle and 30-round magazines in the attack.