Following the passing of a new law banning “assault weapons” throughout the state of Illinois, sheriffs from at least 80 counties across the state have publicly refused to enforce the law on their citizens.
As reported by Breitbart, the law signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) on Tuesday focuses on semiautomatic rifles, which are among the most commonly-owned firearms, and demands that all who already own such weapons must register them with the Illinois State Police.
“The new law also requires existing owners of semi-automatic rifles to register their ownership, ensuring that law enforcement knows the location of these weapons of war and who to hold accountable if they fall into the wrong hands,” Pritzker’s office said in a statement following the signing of the bill.
Shortly after the law’s passage, Sheriff Darby Boewe of Edwards County released a statement confirming that his department would not enforce the ban.
“Part of my duties that I accepted upon being sworn into office was to protect the rights provided to all of us, in the Constitution. One of those rights enumerated is the right of the people to KEEP and BEAR ARMS provided under the 2nd Amendment,” Boewe said. “The right to keep and bear arms for defense of life, liberty and property is regarded as an inalienable right by the people.” He further denounced the new law as “a clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
Since then, 79 other sheriffs across the state have publicly taken the same stance as Boewe, thus meaning that the overwhelming majority of Illinois’ 102 counties will not treat the new ban as legitimate law.
Pritzker’s ban is one of several strict anti-gun bills passed by Democrat-led states in recent months after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in June in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which determined that an over 100-year-old law in New York demanding that applicants for a concealed carry permit must show “proper cause” was unconstitutional. The landmark decision led to many other similar gun restrictions throughout the country being challenged, and Democratic lawmakers and governors scrambling to write new laws to circumvent the ruling.