East Central Reporter

Illinois state Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) implored his constituents to remain vigilant and not allow Gov. JB Pritzker to "shred the Constitution" by way of gun control.

"Time to WAKE UP!" he said in a Jan. 17 Facebook post. "We will not allow JB Pritzker to shred the Constitution! Check out my segment with Tucker last night."

In the post, Wilhour shared video of an interview with Tucker Carlson on FOX News about the passage of Senate Bill 2226; which bans automatic weapons and magazines over a certain length, and makes changes to who is required to carry a FOID card. In the interview, Wilhour vowed not to comply with the law.

"You know, I didn't leave the farm to go to the General Assembly to stand by and watch somebody like JB Pritzker trash our Constitution," Wilhour said in the interview. "He trashed it during COVID, with his illegal lockdown. He trashed it with the his so-called Safety Act, letting violent criminals out on the street; and now he's coming after our guns and we're just here to tell him that 'there's 2.5 million legal gun owners in the state of Illinois that need a word' and if he thinks that he's going to come in here and make us register our legally obtained firearms, well you better pack a lunch, because it's not gonna happen. We won't comply."

Senate Bill 2226 was filed on Jan. 5 by Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch (D-Westchester), the Illinois General Assembly website said. The bill included much of the information that was in HB 5855, which was filed Dec. by Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Highwood). The legislation bans the manufacture, sale and purchase of assault weapons and the large-capacity ammunition magazines used in them. Additionally, the bill requires owners of the banned firearms to register those weapons with the state and also bans items that can convert legal handguns into illegal automatic weapons.

On Jan. 20, Effingham County Judge Joshua Morrison granted a temporary restraining order against the law; a KSDK report said. The lawsuit was brought by attorney Thomas DeVore on behalf of 866 plaintiffs, one of them being Effingham County's Accuracy Firearms LLC.

The restraining order does not affect those who were not party to the lawsuit, which DeVore announced in a Jan. 17 tweet. 

"We will see Gov Pritzker in court tomorrow!" he said in the tweet. "No longer can the citizens sit idly by while bureaucrats destroy the very foundational fabric of our great Republic. It’s an honor of my lifetime to play a role in representing the People against tyranny."

DeVore's website shared documents pertaining to the temporary restraining order. The documents included the complaint that lists all 866 plaintiffs, a notice of hearing, and other items, along with a copy of the restraining order itself. Those documents can be found here.