Owners of this type of ammunition must file a disclosure with state police. Importantly, any firearm that has been modified with aftermarket accessories to achieve the same effect as the state’s definition of “assault weapon” would still fall under the ban. This means that a collection of parts that could convert a firearm into an assault weapon – for example, an unregulated pistol and conversion kit – would be considered an assault weapon, even if the kit is unassembled. Gun owners face a Jan. 1 deadline to register their assault weapons with the state under Illinois’ assault weapons law. However, you must transfer it to an authorized person as outlined in the Protect Illinois Communities Act (an heir, an individual residing in another state maintaining it in another state, or a dealer licensed as a federal firearms dealer).
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These geographical restrictions also apply to large capacity ammunition feeding devices, however, PICA does not require an endorsement affidavit for large capacity ammunition feeding devices. Extension tubes are neither fixed nor detachable magazines, however, they are considered an assault weapon attachment subject to the endorsement affidavit requirement if used for something other than hunting. CHICAGO (WLS) — The Illinois senate passed its version of the proposed assault weapons ban bill on Monday night. The decision involved three consolidated cases that challenged the state’s assault weapon ban as well as local ordinances enacted in Cook County, Chicago and Naperville. Both the state law and the Naperville ordinance were passed in response to a mass shooting last year at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park that left seven people dead and dozens more injured and traumatized. “When I campaigned for reelection and promised to pass an assault weapons ban, eight states already had one, very soon, Illinois must be the ninth,” Pritzker said.
- The assault weapons ban went into effect when Gov. JB Pritzker signed it in January 2023, immediately prohibiting the sale in Illinois of a long list of weapons and attachments.
- Yes, there is a specific exemption within PICA for assault weapons being repaired by Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) and gunsmiths.
- Pistols are also restricted if they have a threaded barrel, a second grip, the capacity to accept magazines outside of the grip and shoulder stocks.
- This is generally punishable by up to a year in jail or a fine of up to $2,500.
Affected gun owners must file an affidavit or face criminal penalties
Democrats exchanged hugs and high fives after passing the bill, making Illinois the ninth state to outlaw the weapons that have become synonymous with mass shootings. A survey conducted by Ipsos, a large market research firm, found that last year, one in five gun owners in the United States owned an AR-15 or similar gun. Estimates for gun ownership more broadly in Illinois vary, with research suggesting between 25 and 30 percent of the households in the state own a gun. But opponents of the law said it unfairly penalizes many of the 2.4 million legal gun owners in Illinois.
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While the law bans the sale and possession of large-capacity magazines, owners do not need to file a disclosure if they had these magazines prior to Jan. 10, 2023. People required to file this paperwork, called an “endorsement affidavit,” can do so at the state police Firearms Services Bureau website. This is the same online portal used for concealed carry licenses and Firearm Owners Identification cards. These affidavits must be submitted electronically and submitting false information would be considered perjury. Accessories that would give an otherwise unregulated firearm one or more of these features are regulated as “assault weapon attachments,” and they also require a disclosure with state police.
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The majority wrote the firearms banned under Illinois’ law are “much more like machine guns and military-grade weaponry” than those typically used for self-defense, like handguns. As of Dec. 4, nearly 4,900 people had filed disclosures in accordance with the state’s assault weapons ban. They collectively filed about 9,300 weapons disclosures, about 4,800 accessory disclosures and 87 ammunition disclosures. If a gun owner moves to Illinois from a state where they legally owned firearms or accessories banned under Illinois’ law, they must file an endorsement affidavit with the state police within 60 days of moving to Illinois.
Gun Laws
The bill got a joint endorsement Monday night from the governor, the House speaker, along with the Senate president. This story will be updated as litigation and administrative rulemaking continues. See something incorrect or have a question that wasn’t answered here? Several federal cases challenging the constitutionality of the law could be decided by the U.S. Earlier this month, a three-judge panel on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 opinion allowing the law to remain in effect while the cases continue. One of the central issues at the heart of these hearings has been how precisely ISP will interpret some of the vaguer aspects of the law.
Only assault weapons, assault weapon attachments, .50 caliber rifles, and .50 caliber cartridges are subject to the endorsement affidavit process. Yes, there is a specific exemption within PICA for assault weapons being repaired by Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) and gunsmiths. Further, you can repair your own assault weapon insofar as you do not need to replace parts that would be considered “assault weapon attachments” under PICA. Since non-exempt individuals cannot purchase assault weapon attachments, such parts would need to be replaced by an FFL or gunsmith. Friday’s opinion comes in the midst of a series of Illinois State Police hearings on the part of the assault weapons ban law that allows gun owners who already possess banned weapons and high-capacity magazines to be able to keep them so long as they’re registered with the state. It bans the sale of assault weapons and high capacity magazines, along with rapid fire devices.
To be an assault weapon attachment, the item must be specifically designed for a firearm. Items specifically designed for airsoft guns are not assault weapon attachments and an endorsement affidavit would not be required. Illinois passed the ban on assault weapons after the 2022 Independence Day parade shooting that left seven people dead and 48 wounded. The gunmen in the July 4th shooting fired 83 rounds in under a minute using an AR-15.
Proof of eligibility means a copy of a current or retired employment identification card, a letter from the employing agency on official letterhead, or any similar official instrument used to confirm employment and identity. If the firearm in question is a shotgun with a revolving cylinder it is regulated regardless of the chamber size. What process will ISP use in determining if a gun meets the definitions. Illinois State Police sent a letter to gun dealerships, informing them of the law’s passage.
Ammunition feeding devices are also regulated by the act, but in a slightly less strict fashion than weapons. The law bans “large capacity” magazines, which it defines as being 15 or more rounds for pistols and 10 or more rounds for rifles. While banned, owners of large capacity magazines do not need to file a disclosure.
The possession exemption is driven by the plain language of the statute. The possession exemption is for while the person is engaged in certain exempt activities – like hunting – and while traveling to or from a location authorized for the activity. An individual or FFL should require proof that the buyer meets these conditions prior to transferring a regulated weapon or large capacity ammunition device. If the shotgun’s fixed magazine tube will not accept more than 5 rounds of the maximum identified chambered size round, it is not regulated by PICA unless it has one of the features otherwise regulated – for example a pistol grip or thumbhole stock. Please provide examples of things that would be considered an assault weapon attachment. The Illinois State Rifle Association said the ban will impact nearly 2.5 million Illinois gun owners.
Revolving cylinder shotguns are restricted as well as semiautomatic shotguns that have the capacity to accept a detachable magazine or a fixed magazine with more than five rounds. The regulated firearm must be legally possessed, including but not limited to compliance with the FOID Act. Assault weapons owned by individuals (even if the person owns a business or is licensed as an FFL) are subject to the endorsement affidavit. If the parts or combination of parts are designed to and function to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm about the standard rate of fire for semiautomatic firearms that are not equipped with that part or combination of parts, they are regulated by PICA.
Illinois’ assault weapons ban is wide-ranging and affects a variety of firearms and accessories, most notably weapons based on the design of the AR-15. If you are denied a FOID card, you can surrender the assault weapon, assault weapon attachment, .50 caliber rifle, or .50 BMG caliber cartridge to law enforcement for safekeeping while seeking relief from such denial. For a brief period of six days this spring, an injunction temporarily halted enforcement of the assault weapons ban.
If the shotgun’s fixed magazine tube will accept more than 5-rounds of the maximum identified chambered size round, it is regulated by PICA and subject to the endorsement affidavit provisions. Assault weapons attachments do not include integral parts or components of an assault weapon but rather are supplementary. So, any item that alone constitutes an assault weapon attachment is subject to the endorsement affidavit process. The Senate bill does make a modification from the bill the House passed on what high-capacity magazines would be banned. The law will ban the sale, delivery and purchase of dozens of assault-style weapons, any firearms currently owned must be registered with state police. But between lawsuits and ongoing policymaking, the exact guns, accessories and ammunition covered under the Protect Illinois Communities Act remain unclear to many gun rights advocates, who point out that the ban includes some of the most popular models in the country.
Owners of weapons regulated under the act can legally keep assault weapons, now-banned accessories and .50 caliber rifles, if they owned the weapon or accessory prior to Jan. 10, 2023, when the law went into effect, and they register them with ISP. Some people, notably law enforcement officers, are exempt from the disclosure requirement. The law classifies more than 170 different models of firearm as assault weapons.
The ban prevents people from owning semiautomatic weapons, such as the one used in that shooting, as well as magazines that enable handguns and rifles to fire off many rounds without reloading. The assault weapons ban went into effect when Gov. JB Pritzker signed it in January 2023, immediately prohibiting the sale in Illinois of a long list of weapons and attachments. But Illinoisans who own assault weapons – a term that is itself contentious among gun advocates – can keep them, so long as they purchased them before the law went into effect and register them with the Illinois State Police before the end of this year. Prior to January 1, 2024, the owner may transfer the assault weapon to an heir, an individual residing in another state maintaining it in another state, or a federal firearms licensee.