McHenry County gun dealers say assault weapon ban registration rule is causing confusion

Erik Sivertsen says he talks to gun buyers every day who are taken aback to find out there is an assault weapons ban in Illinois.

“Most people are surprised and don’t know what to do when we tell them about it,” said Sivertsen, owner of Guns-N-Such in McHenry.

One element of the new law that is also creating confusion is the stipulation that Illinois residents who already owned guns that fall under the ban can keep them – but only if they register them with Illinois State Police before Jan. 1.

Although registration has already opened, state police said this week they were still finalizing the rules for what items exactly need to be registered, creating confusion and frustration among gun owners and sellers. Anyone can submit comments on the proposed rules before Nov. 20 by emailing ISP.Legal.PublicComments@illinois.gov.

On Nov. 3, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Illinois’ gun ban does not violate the U.S. Constitution. Passed by the General Assembly in early 2023 and signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker hours later, the law was earlier upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court.

Opponents are expected to appeal that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, in the meantime, the registration requirement to grandfather in existing weapons remains.

The so-called Protect Illinois Communities Act bans the sale, purchase, possession and distribution of a long list of firearms defined as “assault weapons,” as well as various firearm attachments, large-capacity magazines, and certain kinds of ammunition.

McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally joined a lawsuit challenging the ban shortly after it was enacted. He said Thursday that his office will uphold the law – including the enforcement of the requirement to register weapons owned prior to the ban – regardless of his personal opinions that the law is “unconstitutional,” “too all encompassing” and “an overreach.”

“Any law in the state of Illinois, whether I personally agree with it or not, I will enforce,” Kenneally said.

He said the law “criminalizing large swaths of good people in our community,” but he will continue to “be mindful” that it has been upheld by the appeals court.

“The law is in effect in the state of Illinois, and McHenry County is a part of Illinois, so as long as it is not declared unconstitutional ... we are compelled to enforce the law,” Kenneally said.

Sivertsen said he finds the law “poorly written” in regards what needs to be registered and what doesn’t. Among his concerns is language that refers to items that are “readily converted” or “readily restored,” questioning how those terms are defined.

He said he’s heard from people who are unsure if a weapon has to be registered if the buyer already completed a federal background check to purchase the weapon.

There have been a few people who, since the law was signed, have simply returned their guns to avoid the registration, Sivertsen said.

Then there are those who are unaware of any changes to the law in Illinois.

“I am usually surprised when they have no idea what is going on. We have a printed copy of the law under the counter, of what to order to make sure it doesn’t fall into one of the categories ... puzzling it out and making sure we don’t cross a line,” Sivertsen said.

Bert Irslinger, owner of McHenry-based Second Amendment Sports, a gun shop and range, also has seen an uptick in gun owners selling certain firearms. Some don’t want to register, while others are concerned about properly understanding and following the law.

So far, almost 3,000 gun owners have registered their firearms, according to Illinois State Police data. Other states that passed similar registration have seen “single-digit” percent ranges in compliance with registration rules, Irslinger said.

“If the registration period follows a similar path to others, a lot of law abiding Illinois citizens will be made into criminals overnight,” he said.

Second Amendment Sports’ director of marketing and public relations, Tyler Duncan, said the shop had to change about 60% of their inventory when the ban went into effect earlier this year.

Banned semi-automatics, shotguns, pistols and firearm accessories have a red paper band around them to easily identify them to customers. The shop continues to have the red-banded firearms in the shop because they can still sell them to police officers, Duncan said.

Kenneally said that although his office will enforce the law, he finds it unlikely people will end up in prison if they fail to register their assault weapons. Such violations would have to occur multiple times for them to be felony offenses that could result in prison time.

“But ... every case depends on its own particular facts,” Kenneally said. “But this isn’t going to be a priority for our office.”

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

To register an assault weapon, an owner has to file what’s called an endorsement affidavit through their Firearm Owner’s Identification Card account. For more information, go to isp.illinois.gov/Home/AssaultWeapons.

Capitol News Illinois contributed to this story.