(The Center Square) – Despite an objection motion from the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules being approved, permanent rules for Illinois’ gun ban and registry filed by Illinois State Police are now in place.
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules met Tuesday in Springfield at the start of the spring 2024 legislative session. Among the rules they reviewed were rules about the state’s year-old gun ban and registry.
Illinois State Police filed emergency rules for the registry on Sept. 15. The registry opened based on those rules on Oct. 1. The deadline for those with banned firearms owned before the Jan. 10, 2023, enactment date of the Protect Illinois Communities Act to register the now banned guns was Jan. 1, 2024.
Second notice rules were filed weeks before the deadline to register, but JCAR didn’t take those rules up at its December meeting. Tuesday, JCAR took those rules up, more than two weeks after the registration deadline.
State Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, asked a series of questions including whether registration records would be retained if the law is found unconstitutional. An attorney for Illinois State Police said they have a procedure to destroy such records if that is to happen. Other questions included what types of information will be shared with the Law Enforcement Agency Database used by police across the state during things like traffic stops.
After various questions, the body failed to approve a motion to prohibit the rules, but did approve an objection along party lines with Republicans voting for both motions. Spain shared his frustration with the process.
“And here we are now in January, after the first of the year, wondering where things stand,” said Spain. “I’m really quite frustrated that we could have approached this differently with a clearer timeframe.”
State Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said an objection keeps the rules in place.
“The panel agreed to put the permanent rule on our omnibus no object list,” said Cunningham. “So that went forward. That permanent rule will go into place right now. We have a pending objection to the emergency rule that will require the state police to come back and address that at our next meeting.”
The next meeting for JCAR is Feb. 6 in Springfield.
Cunningham said the state’s gun ban is a complicated law, but the rules in place are the law of the land.
“It’s a very complicated law, there’s no question about that and the confusion is understandable but I think there’s been a good faith effort made to try to address the confusion,” Cunningham said.
Illinois State Rifle Association’s Ed Sullivan reacted to the rules action, saying they are still “screwed up” and a “horrific attempt to hurt law-abiding gun owners.” But, there was clarity about whether ISP would destroy registration records if the law is struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The law remains challenged in federal court and is expected to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court eventually.
“Once all appeals are exhausted and there’s a court that federal or state orders the destruction of the records and the state records department says you can do it then they will destroy the records,” Sullivan told The Center Square. “So that’s a win for law abiding gun owners.”
Illinois State Police data indicates about 1.2% of the state’s 2.4 million Firearm Owner ID card holders have registered banned items.
Low registration compliance rate aside, Cunningham said the law is the law.
“Ignorance of the law is never a valid excuse for not following the law,” he said.
