That’s the question faced by Illinois’ gun-grabbing lawmakers in the wake of overwhelming disinterest in falling in line with their latest attack on the Second Amendment. The ill-named Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) was signed into law over a year ago.
PICA immediately banned the sale of semi-automatic weapons, including rifles and shotguns styled like military firearms. Certain pistols, so-called “large capacity” magazines and gun parts were also prohibited. These included folding stocks and muzzle flash suppressors.
The act’s deadline for owners of these popular sporting rifles in Illinois to register them with the State Police was Jan. 1. The portal for owners to comply opened in October, so there were three full months to reach compliance with state law.
Current owners of these weapons were allowed to keep them if they bent the knee and registered.
Only, very few did.
State Police reported just over 29,000 licensed gun owners registered almost 69,000 weapons with the agency. While that may seem like a substantial number, even a cursory glance shows that it is in fact miniscule.
There are 2.5 million FOID holders in the Land of Lincoln. Some estimate that there are as many as 10 million semiautomatic weapons in circulation in the state, and simple math shows that the compliance rate barely topped 1%.
Even considering that every FOID holder does not own a semi-automatic firearm, that number is still staggeringly low.
So, when it’s time to round up all these scofflaws, who will carry out the task?
Not county sheriffs, that’s for certain. Shortly after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed the controversial law last January, the top enforcement officers in 80 Illinois counties drew a line in the sand against enforcing the measure.
That’s out of 102 total.
The Lake & McHenry County Scanner reported that sheriffs are committed to completely ignoring Pritzker’s ban on semi-automatic weapons. One of the first to plant his flag was Edwards County Sheriff Darby Boewe.
He released a statement explaining his decision to stand by the rights of the people of his county.
“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 rights enumerated 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 of the people.”
Boewe’s stand and that of 79 of his colleagues is great news for the overwhelming majority of Illinois gun owners. Hundreds of thousands of them became uncharged criminals at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s morning.
Roger Krahl, owner of RGuns in Carpentersville, told the Chicago Sun-Times that he did not register his personal weapons. This despite confirming that he possesses “at least one” that fits the state’s definition of an “assault weapon.”
Before the new law took effect, Krahl said 80% of his retail sales consisted of semi-automatic firearms that may no longer be sold. He said his establishment sold tens of thousands of these weapons in previous years.
His estimate for these sporting rifles in the hands of Illinois residents? “I would be amazed if we didn’t have 10 million.”
State officials left the portal open after the New Year’s Day deadline, but unsurprisingly there is not a mad dash to comply. After all, gun owners would be admitting to ignoring the original deadline, and there’s nothing stopping a rogue anti-Second Amendment county prosecutor from pursuing charges.
