5 things to know about Illinois’ new gun ban

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a new round of gun regulations Tuesday night, including a ban on more than 100 types of high-powered semiautomatic weapons.

The new law follows other measures Illinois lawmakers have passed in recent years intended to make the state’s gun laws stricter. Those measures include a 2021 law seeking to expand background checks and bolster the system for prospective gun owners to obtain a Firearm Owner’s Identification card.

Other bills approved in recent years required gun dealers to become certified; banned unserialized, privately made guns; and established government bodies tasked with combating gun violence.

Here are five things to know about Illinois’ newest gun law:

1. When does it start?

The new law, House Bill 5471, went into effect immediately after Pritzker signed into law on Tuesday night.

2. What guns are banned?

The bill bans and restricts well over 100 different varieties of weapons, including guns that are semiautomatic or are modified. Those include Avtomat Kalashnikova, also known as AKs, and ArmaLites, also known as ARs. All Military Armament Corporation, also known as MACs, all Thompsons, all IZHMASH Saiga 12s, and different UZI models are also banned.

The bill outlaws guns that have attached parts as well, including a threaded barrels, flash suppressors, grenade launchers or other features that can be modified.

For a full list of firearms mentioned in the bill, go to bit.ly/3GyJ3Hh.

3. What if I already own one of these guns?

The bill requires the owners of these weapons to register them. The registration system has not yet been created, but owners of these types of guns will have to register them with the Illinois State Police.

4. How will the Illinois State Police enforce these new laws?

No protocol or procedures have been created yet for the state police to enforce the bill’s provisions, Illinois State Police spokesperson Melaney Arnold said. It’s expected those will be created soon, but the state police did not provide a timeline on Wednesday.

Those rules will be drafted and then go before the state’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Arnold said.

5. Where do red flag laws fit into this new bill?

Firearm restraining orders, also known as “red flag laws,” can remove weapons or restrict an individual from acquiring such weapons for a limited period of time if they are found to be a danger to themselves or others.

The new law allows a restraining order to last for up to a year, up from six months. Such an order also is allowed to be renewed for an additional year, according to the bill.