ILLINOIS, USA — Gun enthusiasts in Illinois were on the edge of their seats after a bill that would ban high-powered weapons and magazines advanced to the State Senate on Friday.
Metro Shooting Supplies owner Steve King and his customers have kept an eye on what could be the most expansive gun control measure in Illinois history.
King told 5 On Your Side he had seen more business because of the unprecedented risk.
“Every year for the past 20 years, Belleville has gone through an Illinois legislative session that has tried to restrict our ownership of guns. I’m not shocked. Unfortunately, this is the closest it’s gotten to being this bad in the past 20 years,” he said.
If the Protect Illinois Communities Act passes, King would not be able to sell assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines with more than 12 rounds which make up a large portion of his stock.
Anyone holding some of those magazines would have 90 days to get rid of them.
“A lot of people have told me they are not going to register their firearms. They are not going to listen to what this law says. So, they are going to challenge it in court,” King said.
Many law enforcement agencies in the Metro East were either unavailable or passed on commenting Friday.
Mayor Robert Eastern of East St. Louis joined other state mayors in a letter reading in part “Our communities have suffered from gun violence, and we can't sit idly by while families remain at risk. Guns designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible do not belong on our streets or in our homes.”
People who own already own the weapons at issue would be grandfathered in but they will have 300 days to enter the serial number of those weapons into the FOID system.
King argued that adequate gun laws had already been written in stone for years.
"Go after the people that are trying to purchase firearms illegally. Go after the people who do firearms illegally and then prosecute the people who do gun crimes," he said.
The Senate has until Wednesday morning to pass the bill if they don’t make any modifications, then it will be sent to Governor JB Pritzker’s desk.
The Protect Illinois Communities Act was spurred on by the Highland Park mass shooting, which pairs with other everyday gun violence throughout the state.