Illinois is evaluating new gun control measures, despite criticism from Second Amendment advocates who argue that existing laws infringe on constitutional rights. The state currently mandates that residents obtain a government-issued license to possess or purchase firearms, allowing state police up to 30 days to process applications. The New Civil Liberties Alliance is challenging the Illinois Firearm Owners Identification Card Act in court.
State Democrats are proposing legislation that would effectively ban Glock firearms, following a similar measure passed in Connecticut. Democratic State Representative Justin Slaughter is leading House Bill 4471, which aims to prohibit the sale of semiautomatic pistols with a specific trigger design that could be modified to function as a machine gun.
Gun control advocates, including Everytown for Gun Safety, are pressuring Illinois lawmakers to pass the bill, citing concerns about the potential for criminals to convert pistols into machine guns. The proposed legislation did not pass before the end of the last session but may be revisited in the future.
Illinois has some of the strictest gun laws in the United States, alongside Massachusetts, which also requires a government license for firearm ownership. Legal challenges to these laws have occurred, including a case involving nonresidents arrested for carrying firearms in Massachusetts, which reached the Supreme Court but was not considered by the justices.
