Local gun dealer up in arms about proposed bill

Springfield, Ill (WAND) – An internet-based gun dealer in Sangamon County warns passage of a ban on military style assault weapons could put him out of business.

“Effectively put us out of business or massively cripple us,” Ethan Manning told WAND News. “I’m really nervous that they’re going to pass this in the middle of the night down to the wire. Nobody will even know about it until the next morning or even weeks later for that matter.”

The proposed ban would apply to the future sale of those rifles. The legislation would also restrict magazine capacity to just ten rounds which would impact the sales of pistols.

Lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled legislature are expected to bring the measure up for a vote during the upcoming lame duck session in January. Governor Pritzker indicated earlier this month he would like to see the bill hit his desk sometime during the first half of 2023.