Governor Pritzker signs assault weapons ban

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — HB5471, which passed the Illinois Senate and House in the past week, was signed by Governor JB Pritzker on Tuesday night in the capitol rotunda.

“For the past four years, my administration and my colleagues in the State Capitol have been battling the powerful forces of the NRA to enshrine the strongest and most effective gun violence legislation that we possibly can,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “I couldn’t be prouder to say that we got it done. And we will keep fighting — bill by bill, vote by vote, and protest by protest — to ensure that future generations only hear about massacres like Highland Park, Sandy Hook, and Uvalde in their textbooks.”

The Senate's version of the bill made some changes from the House version which passed on the weekend.

“We can no longer allow mass shootings to be part of our norm,” said Senator Morrison (D-Lake Forest), who represents Highland Park. “This is a long overdue step toward keeping communities safer.”

When the bill goes into effect, it would immediately end the sale, delivery, and purchase of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The legislation has created a list of weapons subject to the ban that the Illinois State Police could update as needed. Those who already own such guns would be required to register them with the Illinois State Police but they would not have to surrender them.

The bill passed in the Illinois Senate 34-20 on Monday night and 68-41 in the House on Tuesday afternoon.

Senator Turner (R-Beason) said, “It’s disappointing that such a controversial and consequential piece of legislation be once again taken up during lame duck session, where so many legislators are no longer accountable to their voters."

State Rep. Bob Morgan who witnessed the Highland Park shooting on July 4 said this of the bill's passing, "The Senate stepped up and took bold action to save lives in Illinois tonight, and I applaud Senate President Don Harmon and his Democratic caucus for their leadership. Tomorrow, we have the chance to pass this once and for all, and send it to the Governor’s desk for signature. I urge my fellow Representatives to vote yes.”

Senator Rose (R-Mahomet) released a statement that said, “I support the 2nd Amendment rights of all law-abiding gun owners. This is why I opposed and voted against the recent gun-grab legislation in Springfield. This legislation is another massive overreach by the majority party that goes after our lawful gun owners instead of criminals."

This is a developing story and WAND will update as reactions to the signing of HB5471 come in.

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