Suburban America Is Turning Against Guns

By Ready to Fire News On Dec 21, 2018

It seems that suburban America is starting to turn against guns.

Earlier this year, the Illinois village of Deerfield — a suburb on the outskirts of Chicago, passed a ban on what it calls “assault weapons.” This ban isn’t just on the sales and manufacturing of these guns. It compels private citizens to forfeit or secure their guns. And, if they don’t, they will be fined anywhere from $200 to $1,000 a day.

The law bans AR-15s and any other semi-automatic rifle that the village deems to be scary. It is unlawful for a person to keep, carry, transport, bear or possess an assault weapon in the village, according to the law. The village defines assault weapons as semi-automatic shotguns, semi-automatic pistols or any shotgun that has a revolving cylinder. The only exception to this ban is if the gun is in a non-functioning state, and completely broken down. The firearm also must not be accessible to any person. It has to be unloaded and kept in a firearm carrying box by a person who has a current and valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card. In addition to assault rifles, large-capacity magazines are also banned.

Village trustees passed the law unanimously back in April of this year, saying that it will make the village safer. Lawmakers used recent examples of mass shootings that occurred in Parkland, Florida and Las Vegas to pass the law. However, in reality, the law does not make the village any safer. It does the complete opposite by taking away law-abiding citizen’s rights to protect themselves.

Fortunately, gun rights advocates have stepped in to fight against this absurd law. The National Rifle Association has joined The Second Amendment Foundation to bring a lawsuit against the Illinois suburb, calling the law “completely unconstitutional.”

According to gun advocates, Deerfield officials are blatantly violating both the Second Amendment and Illinois state law. The NRA says that every person who resides in Deerfield should have the right to protect themselves and their loved ones with the firearm that best serves their needs. A gun ban would not prevent mass shootings. It would only leave the law-abiding citizens of Deerfield unable to protect themselves against criminals who do decide to unlawfully bring assault weapons into the county.

Fortunately, a Lake County judge agreed with the NRA and other pro-gun advocates. He issued a temporary restraining order against the village, blocking it from enforcing the gun ban. So, it still has yet to take effect. Judge Luis Berrones said that the ban is not enforceable as it goes against the state’s Firearm Owners Identification Card Act and the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.

Earlier this month, the NRA, other gun advocates and law-abiding citizens returned to court to fight the village of Deerfield on the ban. The ban is still currently up in the air. Gun rights advocates and gun-abiding citizens in Deerfield vow to keep fighting this unconstitutional law.

~ Ready to Fire News