Several Central Illinois sheriffs have pledged not to enforce elements of a new state weapons ban.
The new law, also known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act, outlaws the sale or possession of some semiautomatic weapons and requires people who already own those weapons to register them with Illinois State Police. Governor JB Pritzker signed the measure Monday.
In letters and statements issued Tuesday, the sheriffs of Coles, Douglas, Moultrie, Piatt and Shelby Counties said they would not check to ensure that lawful gun owners register their guns with the state. Letters from the sheriffs of Douglas, Moultrie, Piatt and Shelby Counties also said they would not arrest or house citizens who have been arrested solely for non-compliance of the act.
Sheriffs elsewhere in the state have issued similar statements.
The letters argue that the legislation would not make local communities safer and that it violates the second amendment.
The governor’s office has called the statements “political grandstanding.”
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