By Joanna Putman
Police1
MT. VERNON, Ill. — Several Illinois sheriffs have stated that their offices will not enforce a new gun restriction, KSDK reported.
The Protect Illinois Communities Act, which went into effect Jan. 1, effectively bans 170 different guns, as well as high-capacity magazines, according to the report.
“I’ve deemed it from my understanding of case law as unlawful or valid on its face,” Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Bullard told KSDK. “My office will not be taking any action on this.”
The new law requires that Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) cardholders register any banned weapons they have with the state, according to the report. The Illinois State Police have reported that of 2.4 million cardholders in the state, 30,000 have registered a banned weapon so far.
“I notified the chiefs in my county that if the only charge they have against somebody is that they failed to register their weapon we will not be accepting them into our jail,” Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell told KSDK.
Failing to register a banned weapon will lead to a misdemeanor charge on the first offense and a felony charge on the second offense. The decision to charge anyone found in violation of the Protect Illinois Communities Act is left up to individual State Attorneys, according to the report.