Deerfield, Illinois, Approves A Ban On The Manufacture, Sale, And Possession Of Assault Weapons

Photo by Teemu008/Flickr.

THE GOOD NEWS:

A Chicago suburb has voted to ban assault weapons in its community.

In the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, Deerfield, Illinois, Mayor Harriet Rosenthal “directed staff and the village attorney to prepare a report concerning the implementation of a ban of assault weapons,” according to a press release.

“I believe the time has now come to revisit a complete ban of assault weapons,” Rosenthal said.

On Monday, April 2, the village board of trustees made good on that directive by approving a ban on the manufacture, sale, and possession of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in the Chicago suburb.

The ban goes into effect June 13, and any resident who does not comply with the ban by turning in their assault weapon will receive a $1,000 fine per day, per offense.

The ban includes semi-automatic rifles with a fixed magazine and a capacity to fit more than 10 rounds of ammunition and specific models, like the AK-47, AR-15, and the Bushmaster XM15.

Guns Save Life, a gun advocacy organization supported by the NRA, is filing a lawsuit against Deerfield. “We are going to fight this ordinance, which clearly violates our member’s constitutional rights, and with the help of the NRA, I believe we can secure a victory for law-abiding gun owners in and around Deerfield,” said John Boch, president of Guns Save Life, in a statement.

Gun rights advocates have an uphill battle overturning the ban. Over the past decade, four court decisions have upheld assault-weapon bans. Last year, a federal appeals court ruled that a Maryland law banning assault weapons was constitutional.

A nationwide ban on assault-style weapons in place from 1994 to 2004 was shown to significantly reduce the number of mass shootings in America, according to research by Louis Klarevas of the University of Massachusetts. Under the assault weapons ban, gun massacres involving six or more deaths fell by 37%, and the total number of gun massacre fatalities fell 43%. When the ban lapsed in 2004, massacres increased by 183% and massacre deaths increased 239%.