Macon Reporter

Illinois Republican lawmakers have been speaking out against a House bill that they say is unconstitutional, and this includes Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), who recently posted a petition to his newsletter.

Halbrook said that House Bill 5855 is a violation of the second amendment, and that if passed it would limit legal gun owners in a variety of ways.

“A sweeping new gun control effort by Democrats has been introduced in the Illinois General Assembly and may be voted on in a Lame Duck Session in early January,” Halbrook said in his newsletter posted on Facebook. “Second Amendment Rights of legal gun owners would be severely limited under HB 5855. Within the bill, Democrats have created a new definition of “assault weapon” to include almost every kind of semi-automatic weapon currently available to law-abiding citizens. This legislation represents a direct attack on the Constitutional rights afforded to citizens of the United States to protect themselves, their families, and their property.”

Halbrook added that the state of Illinois leads the U.S. in background checks for gun sales.

"Legal gun owners buy more guns when there is uncertainty. In Illinois, the potential implementation of the SAFE--T Act is exacerbating this. Another issue is the proposed ban on certain types of guns in Illinois House Bill 5855. A second hearing on HB5855 is scheduled for December 20th and can be viewed on the ILGA.gov website. The sponsor of this bill is aiming to pass it by January 10th during lame duck session with legislators who will no longer be accountable to the people as they are leaving office. This is the same way the misguided SAFE-T Act was passed. “

The petition listed provisions that would come into play with HB 5855. This includes a registry being created for most semi-automatic weapons; outlawing magazines that hold more than 10 rounds from being created, sold or possessed; restricting people under 21 from getting a FOID card; setting the legal hunting age at 21; and requiring people to pay a $25 fee for some firearms or be charged with a felony.

As of December 21, the petition had 254 signatures. The petition can be found here.