By Illinois Review
Late Tuesday evening, Illinois became the 9th state in the nation to ban assault weapons after Gov. JB Pritzker, D held a signing ceremony at the State Capitol in Springfield. After the ceremony, Pritzker spoke to the press, where he had a stern warning for conservatives across the state: there will be consequences for not following the law.
Earlier in the day, the Democrat-controlled Illinois Senate passed an amended version of the assault weapons ban, 34-20, before sending it back to the House for a vote on the final version before sending it to Gov. Pritzker for his signature.
Former Republican nominee for governor and State Sen. Darren Bailey did not hold back on the Senate floor, telling his colleagues that the State Supreme Court will rule the bill as unconstitutional.
“You’ve got to know the actions that you are taking are tyrannous. You also must know that I and millions of other gun owners in this state will not comply.”
The Illinois State Rifle Association – an organization that Democratic legislators did not consult with when drafting the bill, didn’t mix words either, sending out a simple statement earlier in the day that said,
“Challenge accepted. The Illinois State Rifle Association will see the State of Illinois in court.”
The Democrats can’t even define what a woman is, so how then do we expect them to define what an assault weapon is?
The Democrat-controlled Illinois House passed the final version of the Senate bill late Tuesday, 68-41. Outgoing Republican House Minority Leader Jim Durkin joined the Democrats and voted in favor of the assault weapons ban.
On Sunday, Durkin announced that after more than 24 years in the Illinois legislature, he was resigning his seat. In November, the day after the election, Durkin announced that he was resigning as House Minority Leader.
During the midterm election, Durkin suffered embarrassing losses, giving House Democrats once again, supermajority control in the Illinois House.
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Durkin blamed the Second Amendment and social issues like abortion for Republican losses in November.
But for Durkin to suggest that Second Amendment and pro-life issues are “dragging” the Republican party down is an insult. These are the issues that make us Republicans in the first place.
In the last week, Illinois Review has published several articles about Durkin using his political influence to target conservative grassroots candidates during the Illinois Primary.
Sources also confirmed to Illinois Review that the IL GOP is blaming Durkin for the party’s postage discount abuse, where mailers “Paid for by the Republican Party of Illinois” were sent during the primary to viciously attack conservative Republican grassroots candidates that were challenging Durkin’s friends and political allies.
And now the IL GOP faces a potential postage discount audit that could be damaging, with some suggesting that an audit could even bankrupt the party, and force a restructuring of the entire leadership.
But while the assault weapons ban is now law in Illinois, expect massive lawsuits in the coming days and weeks challenging this unconstitutional law.
Just minutes after Pritzker signed the bill, former Republican nominee for attorney general and attorney Tom DeVore, who successfully sued the Pritzker administration that resulted in the removal of masks in schools, announced that he is partnering with members of the legal profession to file a lawsuit immediately.
Please continue to follow Illinois Review for more updates as they become available.
