Less than 1% of Illinois gun card holders registered assault weapons ahead of January deadline

METRO EAST, Ill. (KMOV) - A new Illinois law requires assault weapon holders to register their firearms with Illinois State Police, but than less than 1% has done so, according to authorities.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act, which banned the possession and sale of assault weapons like AK-47s and AR-15s, requires individuals who already possess these weapons to register the weapons with the Illinois State Police if individuals want to still possess the weapons.

According to ISP, as of Wednesday, 4,089 individuals have registered their assault weapons out of 2,415,481 state residents who possess Firearms Owners Identification cards. Gun owners have until January 1, 2024 to be in compliance.

In an email to First Alert 4, ISP officials said: “Law enforcement agencies, including the ISP, are charged with enforcing the Protecting Illinois Communities Act throughout the state. ISP will continue to enforce the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act and Article 24 of the Criminal Code of 2012 by partnering with local law enforcement through our Violent Crime Intelligence Task Force. The task force is a collaborative effort to reduce and prevent illegal possession and use of firearms, firearm related homicides, and other violent crimes. All law enforcement officers will have access to the resources the ISP has made available to the public to ensure they are able to identify items regulated by the Protecting Illinois Communities Act.”

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s office sent First Alert 4 the following statement:

“With the January 1 deadline a month away, the Governor is confident that gun owners will find the time to register their firearms, as they are required by law to do. Those who don’t, will at some point be breaking the law and will face the legal consequences for doing so.”

“There’s a lot of people that the Illinois State Police would have to go look for and give felonies to,” said Steven King, owner of Metro Shooting Supplies in Belleville, Illinois and Bridgeton, Missouri. “It’s not surprising. They are targeting law abiding citizens who bought these firearms--legally passed a background check.”

Several law enforcement agencies in Southern Illinois, including ones in the Metro East, have denounced the new law.

“I don’t see anyone in the criminal element going to be standing in line at the state police headquarters or the sheriff’s office here registering any firearms,” Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing told First Alert 4 in January.

“I’m sad that so few people are willing to do what’s seems to me be the right thing,” Edwardsville resident Mike Krewson told First Alert 4. “I trust people. I think the vast majority of people are law abiding citizens, and if they decide not to obey the law this time, they’re going to get some grace from me.”

A person violating the registration law could face a fine up to $25,000 and or up to several years in prison.

Illinois guns rights advocate are hopeful the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the Protect Illinois Communities Act at some point next year.