ILLINOIS (WAND)- Since being signed into law, several local sheriff's departments and other law enforcement agencies have rejected the new law banning assault weapons.
On Thursday, Governor JB Pritzker gathered for a press conference in Quincy, Illinois, when asked about the out pour of rejection to the bill by local law enforcement he responded with the following statement:
"Well, the first thing I'd say is they took an oath of office, to uphold the law. As law enforcement, that's their job, and I expect them to do that job. You know, you can have all the resolutions and declarations that you want. The reality is that the laws that are on the books... you don't get to choose which one's people are going to follow. If you don't like it, you can go petition for a change in the legislation or in Springfield, but as it is... you don't get to decide I'm going to drive 150 miles per hour on the highway, and there should be no consequences, and the same thing is true about carrying out the assault weapons ban and the ban on high capacity magazines and also switches that are changing regular guns into essentially machine guns or automatic weapons. So, I think we did the right thing. It was a consensus. There even was a republican vote for it, and an overwhelming support across the State of Illinois including in down state Illinois for this kind of event.
"Remember, nobody's guns are getting taken away from them. There are plenty of other weapons that aren't covered at all by this ban, and this ban is really focused on the same kinds of weapons that were banned by the federal government for ten years, and we saw a significant down draft in the number of people who were shot and killed as a result to the passage of that assault weapons ban. We expect the same thing to happen here in Illinois. "
Over a dozen sheriff's offices and police departments have released statements criticizing HB5471.
These rejections come after the signing of HB5471, which once in effect would immediately end the sale, delivery, and purchase of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Under the new legislation, 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.
CEO of Gun Violence Prevention PAC, Kathleen Sances released a statement in support of the legislation late Thursday, stating:
“Simply put, it is disturbing to hear that several law enforcement departments across Illinois will refuse to support the new gun safety measure signed into law this week. This legislation was not a symbolic act — it‘s a critical path to protect the lives of children and Black and Brown communities in our state. Furthermore, the legislation serves as a safeguard for law enforcement as well. Just this week, a new report details how more police officers are dying from gun violence today than a decade ago. This is a sober reminder that no one is safe or exempt from this man-made epidemic.
G-PAC calls on all law enforcement agencies to come together, understand how gun violence is devastating our communities, and work with advocates to ensure that we all can live safely and away from the threat of senseless violence.”
Copyright 2023. WANDTV. All Rights Reserved.
