Illinois Democrats are Moving Forward With “Assault Weapons” Registration and Mandatory Gun Owners’ Fee

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Dec 13, 2022

Illinois Democrats are getting ready to hold committee hearings on a bill that would mandate all “assault weapons” to be registered with the state and mandate that owners of the guns pay a fee.

Democratic State Representative Bob Morgan sponsored the legislation, which also features several other firearm prohibitions. The bill received its hearing on December 12, 2022. 

Morgan tweeted: “We’ve had many people contact my office on how to be involved in ensuring safe gun legislation for our state gets passed. The first hearing for HB5855 will be on Mon, Dec 12th. If you have any questions on how to submit a witness slip, please see the linked tweet below!”

According to a WGN-TV report, Morgan’s bill prohibits “assault weapons.” In addition, it prohibits “high-capacity magazines and rapid-fire devices…[and would] raise the age of obtaining a FOID [Firearm Owners Identification] card from 18 to 21 unless the person applying for the card is a member of the military.”

Illinois residents who already own guns that fall under the so-called “assault weapons” category would still be allowed to keep them. That said, these firearms would need to be registered. “Assault weapons” owners would also be forced to pay a $25 fee.

Illinois is one of the states with the most hostile gun policies in the nation. Per Guns & Ammo magazine’s “Best States for Gun Owners” rankings, Illinois is ranked in 41st place, making it one of the worst states for gun owners to exercise their right to bear arms. 

Unfortunately, the potential passage of these bills will likely make Illinois further fall down these rankings. Illinois gun owners will likely have to retreat to rural counties in the state to create Second Amendment sanctuaries or leave the state altogether. That’s how things are breaking down in the increasingly polarized US.

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