SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WMBD) — Many counties in Illinois have no plans to enforce the newly enacted assault weapons ban, according to letters released Wednesday.
The Protect Illinois Communities Act was passed through the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker Tuesday. It halts the sale of assault weapons in the state of Illinois and requires owners of such weapons to register them with local law enforcement before the end of 2023.
The first central Illinois sheriff to announce they will not enforce the ban is Iroquois County Sheriff Clint Perzee, in a letter to residents. Below is the text of the letters sent from his office.
As your sheriff, I wanted to give citizens of Iroquois County an update on the recent passage of HB 5471, also known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act.
Sheriff Clint Perzee
As your duly elected sheriff my job and my office are sworn, in fact, to protect the citizens of Iroquois County. This is a job and responsibility that I take with the utmost seriousness.
Part of my duties that I accepted upon being sworn into office was to protect the rights provided to all of us, in the Constitution. One of those enumerated rights is the right of the people to keep and bear arms provided under the 2nd amendment.
The right to keep and bear arms for defense of life, liberty and property is regarded as an inalienable right by the people.
I, among many others, believe that HB 5471 is a clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution.
Therefore, as a Custodian of the Jail and Chief Law Enforcement Official for Iroquois County, that neither myself nor my office will be checking to ensure that lawful gun owners register their weapons with the state, nor will we be arresting or housing law abiding individuals that have been arrested solely with non-compliance with this act.
Many other county sheriffs have sent identical letters letting residents know that they will also not enforce the law. Other central Illinois counties that have confirmed will not enforce the ban include Logan County, Piatt County, McLean County, Sangamon County, Ford County and DeWitt County.
WEHT’s Seth Austin has made a map of all counties that have announced the ban.
Gov. JB Pritzker said in his bill-signing news conference that all Illinoisans will be required to follow the law and that there will be no option for non-compliance.
“The reality is that the State Police is responsible for enforcement, as are all law enforcement all across this state. And they will, in fact, do their job or they won’t be in their job.”
Governor J.B. Pritzker