Numerous Illinois Sheriff Departments Won’t Enforce Gov. Pritzker’s ‘Assault Weapon Ban’
“I, among many others, believe that HB 5471 is in clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law that bans something called assault weapons. Knives? Fists? Oh, guns. Those scary and spooky guns (one of which I own and love):
The legislation bans the manufacture or possession of dozens of brands and types of rapid-fire rifles and pistols, .50-caliber guns and some attachments. The law will allow gun owners to keep the guns they have now but will require them to register them with the state.
Illinois gun manufacturers can continue to make assault weapons and sell them to suppliers in other states, but may not sell them to buyers in Illinois under the new proposal.
Thank goodness many sheriff departments in Illinois have common sense. They won’t enforce this unconstitutional law.
Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker explains to WQAD News why he won’t enforce the law.
Greene County Sheriff Robert McMillen told the county citizens his oath included upholding the Illinois and U.S Constitutions, the latter containing the Second Amendment.
“The right to keep and bear arms for defense of life liberty and property is regarded as an inalienable right by the people of the country,” wrote McMillen. “I, among many others, believe that HB 5471 is in clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution.”
Therefore, as the custodian of the jail and as your chief law enforcement official of Greene County, neither myself, mty deputies, not my office will be conducting or participating in any investigations or arrests, or assisting any outside agency or agencies in any investigations or arrests, concerning lawful gun owners failing to register their weapons with the State; or any other of the unconstitutional provisions contained in HB 5471. Futhermore, the Greene County Jail will not house any law-abiding individuals that have been arrested solely with non-compliance of the regulations found in HB5471.
Macoupin County Sheriff Shawn Kahl’s letter echoed McMillen’s sentiments.
Kahl’s oath included upholding the U.S. Constitution, including the Second Amendment. He also thinks the law is unconstitutional.
I guess the memo outline made the rounds because Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing and Clinton County Sheriff Don Travous said their offices wouldn’t enforce the law.
The letters to the citizens are almost the exact same as the other county letters.
Madison County Sheriff Jeff Connor and Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine blasted the law. But they won’t use the county’s “limited resources” to enforce the law “pending further direction by the courts.”
They know people and gun rights groups will take Pritzker to court.
St. Clair County Sheriff Richard Watson wrote of his disappointment with the passage of HB 5471. He opposed the bill from the beginning and still does not like it.
The level of violence in the country concerns Watson, but he doesn’t think laws like HB 5471 are effective tools “in preventing and holding accountable those that wage efforts of harm and violence on others.”
However, Watson does not say he won’t enforce the law despite admitting he doesn’t “believe we should limit the protections that have been guaranteed to law abiding citizens in the United States Constitution.”
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It’s more than numerous, it’s almost every sheriff in the state, backed up by local state’s attorneys and county boards.
“You don’t get to choose which laws you comply with in the state of Illinois,” says two-faced fatso governor, who happily ignores federal immigration law.
I’m glad some people are fighting back.
“You don’t get to choose which laws you comply with in the state of Illinois”
Actually you do. Duty to the oaths (to US Constitution and that of IL) take precedence.
Liberals say they are “living Constitutions” and thus mean whatever the liberals want.
True, but, the word “liberals” belongs in quotation marks, to indicate that these self-congratulatory regressives and totalitarians on the Left are anything but.
David Codrea’s blog puts the number of non-complying sheriffs at 67 and still growing.
I was seeing anywhere from 70-74 counties out of 102
Sworn to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign AND DOMESTIC.
Wonder if the PRITZKER SUCKS yard signs will make a reappearance south of I-80?
Ford Co. voted 9-1 to ignore Pritzker’s order … wonder who the -1 putz was?
Or the counter-signs “Pritzker Saved My Life” that popped up during COVID lockdown LOL, showed where the local dipshits lived 🙂
Heh … forgot about those – I saw maybe 2 of them amid a sea of PRITZKER SUCKS signs. And that was on a drive from Princeton to Hoopeston on the state routes.
I’ve had many Moscow Mules & Bloody Mary’s at the Princeton Inn 🙂
Hope for Illinois. No longer living there, but I know Illinois would be a red state if only they could cut off the cancer known as $#!+cago, along with a good percentage of the collar counties.
There is NO WAY that Gov. FatAss won legit.
Are the state police going to enforce the law?
Will gov fatso call out the national guard to go door to door to force residents to register their guns?
What about assault stoves??? 🙂
Would it be better from a legal standpoint for a sheriff to state something to the effect of “Our current law enforcement priorities cannot extend to enforcing a law which appears to be unconstitutional in its entirety, and to defend against the lawsuits which would certainly follow any enforcement attempts would be fiscally imprudent. With that in mind, our priorities in law enforcement will be to emphasize protecting the public and serving their interests first and foremost.”
The last time our legislature tried to go after guns, 29 out of 32 counties declared themselves 2nd amendment sanctuaries. This year, the first firearms bill filed, makes it a felony to possess a magazine that holds 10 or more rounds, with no grandfathering.
What state? Thank you.
New Mexico. Michelle Lujan Grisham is our governor and she embodies everything that is foul and disgusting about leftists. She had some of the most stringent covid restrictions in the nation and all we have to show for it is the 8th highest death rate in the nation. She’s all in on the progressive agenda.
New Mexico. Yes. An awful governess. I’ve read about some of her stunts. I guess the Santa Fe voters were the biggest factor in her election.
It’s not entirely in his hands.
Some angry ex-wife or girlfriend calls the prosecutor office, and says so-and-so has a this-or-that, and the prosecutor will use the state police, if need be, to crucify the ex-husband or boyfriend.
The courts are not doing their job, because the courts are Democrat corrupt.
Oh, but it is entirely in his hands, IF they are actually going to do more than virtue signal. I share the Captain’s doubts:
https://www.captainsjournal.com/2023/01/12/illinois-awb/
I didn’t realize the other day when I went coyote hunting that I was breaking the law, ie 20 rounds & rifle not registered. Ha ha, no way & never! Thankfully we’ve got a good sheriff, a Democrat but politics work a little differently at that level, for now 🙂
“Weapons of War” my ass, unless you’re a ‘yote 😉
I grew up in Champaign County. Not remotely surprised they’ll enforce this law. It was bad enough in 1986 and I would never go back.
I was a member of the black rifle club before ’94, and it was a lonely place until Klinton put it on the map. I guess the lesson here is that if you want a well-regulated militia, then ban it. Every gun ban leads to a lot more gun owners, and for exactly the right reason.
There are two broad choices for folks who reside in our States politically dominated by leftist ideologues.
1. Successfully throw out the bums at the ballot box
2. Depart for greener pastures
3. Keep your head down and hope someone else does the heavy lifting required to come and save you
Option three is what has led to the current conditions, that and complacency. Frankly the current conditions probably preclude any viability for option one. That leaves option two; get out of dodge.
I suppose some would argue for a fourth option but that’s simply not realistic anytime soon. Those who do so are, IMO, trying to make themselves feel better about choosing option three by proposing actions they have zero commitment to undertake.
Is there a 4th option? I.e., take a look at your local community (i.e., neighbors), home and church life, outdoor life / recreation, and seek fellowship / friendship with like minded people?
When they closed restaurants to the unvaccinated, we turned to dinners with neighbors, shopped for each other, helped each other – we made the kind of community we wanted to live in. Only if we paid attention to the whirling-dervish pols did we get worked up and learned to ignore them unless they got to the point of real encroachment and not just ideological encroachment.
With homes in IL and WA, I wouldn’t move out of either of them just because the governors are liberal jerks – because honestly their sphere of influence is in the large urban areas, and rural areas where I live in both states, are largely conservative and ignore the governors. Conversely, would I move to Arkansas where Sarah Huckabee Sanders is now governor? Not many years ago it was Bill Clinton. The only reason I’d move there is for the warmer weather – and fishing – and gardening – and the location would be driven by community, crime rate, livability, taxation, etc.
Wherever I live, I am of the mindset “vote the b’tards out” … I live my life at the local level – and we do what we can to mend the fractures caused by the divide and conquer contingent – which in my way of thinking, occurs on a neighborhood / relational level more than at the ballot box.
It’s a hard call, Chief – deeply personal – because in our case, we have large families on both ends of our travels. I could live in Appalachia as the area appeals for beauty, ideology, taxation, but at the same time, I refuse to be driven out and herded by the liberals – nor will I abandon family and the home I’ve worked so hard to make ours.
MrE,
What you describe in your first and second paragraphs is a version option three. In a deep blue dominated State where the organs of power have been in the hands of d/prog bureaucracy for a generation or more despite the occasional r Gov winning County races is good but ultimately will not shift the balance of power Statewide.
There are several States where the bureaucracy, assisted by NGO/lawfare consent decrees, is in control and can’t be shifted out of power in one or even several election cycles. These are all, IMO, a lost cause. The voting public doesn’t have the necessary attention span or willingness to vigorously root out the ideologues; if they did they wouldn’t have let it take root and bloom.
Choosing to stay ultimately means you are choosing to provide tax funding our political opposition as a result increasing their political power indirectly as well as directly in retention of Congressional Districts. Departing to a more free State will deny our political opponents this aid while increasing your own freedom and opportunities. IMO, it’s a mistake to support the Leviathan when you have the option to withdraw that support.
If I leave the state, I can’t vote against them. As for taxes, I’m retired and own my home outright. It’s on well and septic, so no taxes there. Property taxes are all local/county less $1300 to state schools. In WA, there’s no tax on groceries, no tax on pensions or social security – so it’s retirement friendly. Gas and sales tax of course, but we don’t spend enough to feed the Democrat machine, unless you count Federal Taxes and that’s inescapable in any state. A big consideration is I’d never be able to afford a property and view like we have again, nor see my kids often as I do if I moved to another state.
Another consideration, if I sold my WA coast home and moved to rural(ish) TN, wouldn’t I drive up costs for the locals, coming in with my west coast money, overpaying for an existing home there? Wouldn’t that be a kind of gentrification? Washington is in the state it’s in thanks to that – Californians selling their homes and buying lesser expensive homes in Washington. I really don’t want to be part of that – driving up the cost of living in a more affordable conservative state.
If I really wanted to throw my $ at a conservative state, it seems like tourism would be a good way to do that.
MrE,
Whatever you choose do it for the reasons that matter most to you. That said, be honest with yourself about the reasons for the decision. If you stay to be close to your kids almost no one is going to begrudge that.
Lots of rural land is cheap throughout the South though not land with a view. That’s why it’s cheap. Rural isn’t suburban or exurban. Rural is a low population density County, down a road with with maybe 3 homes per mile.
Places where you get a satellite dish for TV and Internet service or go without. You won’t be doing any gentrification in truly rural areas nor pricing anyone local out of the market. Cheap enough to buy enough land for your kids and grandkids to have a place of their own nearby. $2K-$4K per acre for a tract of 80+ acres is more/less the market price for timber/hunting land.
Hi Chief,
If I were young, I’d do that – find a place with a pond, build a cabin / homestead. But … we’ve just finished the reno on the IL house and at 67 it wore me out in that “never again” way. We’ve decided to sell it because the two home thing locks us into a “here or there” lifestyle and we want to do some traveling while we’re able.
A few years ago, I proposed selling our WA home and buying another in a red state, with enough left over to buy a home for my daughter, and her husband’s mom if they would relocate from WA. Suffice to say “disappointed” – but understandable with her health issues and care provider network.
It would be far better for Illinois to ban morbidly obese leftist turds like Pritzker.
Civil rights, novel. Good for them. Diversity…. minority report is such a progressive policy.
The problem in Illinois is that the Dems and corrupt media refuse to admit the real problem plaguing Chicago and surrounding suburbs. The ban will have no effect on the daily murder rate in the state, mostly in Crook county. The ban gives voters a false sense of security. The mass exodus of residents and business is due to the silent problem not discussed in the media.
Illinois is lost. The most populous counties, Cook, Lake, DuPage, are filled with true believers. Part of the new law is a requirement that current gun owners provide serial numbers of their non-compliant weapons, along with other, mundane, restrictions on how firearms are transported (no rounds in a magazine, magazine separate from firearm), etc.
Part of what fueled this was FOID card-holder Robert Crimo in Highland Park on July 4th. The lawfully-purchased firearms were the least of the failures by local law enforcement and family. Meanwhile, the situation in Chicago is swirling the drain and coming to a suburb near you.