East Central Reporter

The Olney Gun Club will be having a town hall meeting that will focus on HB5855, a bill that would ban assault weapons. 

The meeting will be held Saturday, Jan. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Full Armor Christian Academy Gymnasium at 5014 N Route 130 in Olney. 

“Speaker: Mike & Valinda Rowe of 'Illinois Carry' 2nd Amendment Alert: Illinois House Bill HB 5855 is a gun grab!" a Facebook announcement reads. "If passed into law, HB5855 would: -Raise the FOID eligibility age to 21 (unless active military) -Extend firearm restraining orders from 6 to 12 months -Ban the sale of semi-automatic firearms -Require registration of any currently owned semi- automatic firearm -Ban all 'large capacity' magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Stand for your 2nd Amendment rights!"

Critics have argued the legislation will criminalize gun-owning Illinoisans while having little effect on criminals. 

“I would say it’s somewhere between two and 10 million magazines, and it’s a massive impact,” Dan Eldridge, of gun dealers’ association Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois told The Center Square. “These are the standard magazines that come with a duty-sized pistol even, they’re the standard magazines that come with a rifle. These are not aftermarket extended capacity magazines. ...With an immediate effective date, mere possession of a – and I’m not going to use their words, I’m going to use accurate words – mere possession of a standard-capacity magazine is a crime. There’s no getting around that. So you’ve got Second Amendment issues. You’ve got Fourth Amendment issues. You’ve got Fourteenth Amendment issues. You can’t do this.”

HB5855 would prohibit the sale of semi-automatic weapons in the state and create a registry to track those who legally own them. According to the bill's synopsis, it “Makes it unlawful to manufacture, deliver, sell, or purchase or cause to be manufactured, delivered, sold, or purchased or cause to be possessed by another, an assault weapon, assault weapon attachment, .50 caliber rifle, or .50 caliber cartridge. Makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly possess an assault weapon, .50 caliber rifle, or .50 caliber cartridge 300 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act, except possession of weapons registered with the Illinois State Police in the time provided. Provides exemptions and penalties. Prohibits the manufacture, delivery, sale, purchase, or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices.”

The proposed ban has drawn severe criticism. The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) and other organizations opposing the measure have vowed to pursue legal action if the legislation passes. “Anti-2nd Amendment politicians in Springfield have filed HB5855 with the full support of the most anti-gun Governor this state has ever seen, Gov. Pritzker,” ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson said on the group's website. 

“The proposed legislation, which they hope to vote on in early January, would ban certain semi-automatic pistols, rifles, and shotguns along with any magazine that has a capacity of greater than 10 rounds including any magazine for your handguns. While technically they are not coming for your kids, the Government believes they know best and will not allow any person under 21 to have a FOID card unless they are in the military,” Pearson said.