Residents of Deerfield, Illinois have 60 days to turn in their “assault weapons” or face fines of up to $1000 dollars a day.
Earlier this week, the The Village Board of Trustees passed an ordinancewhich banned certain types of “assault weapons” and large capacity magazines, including the the Ruger 10/22, which can accept magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.
Semi-automatic pistols that can hold more than 10 rounds have also been banned. Law enforcement and retired law enforcement members of the community are exempted from the ban.
Residents will have to either sell the weapons, transfer ownership to someone living outside of the town, turn them into police or pay the exorbitant fines, which range from $250 to $1000 per day per gun. The deadline is June 13.
Authorities justified the ban by pointing to the recent spate of mass shootings, including last year’s Sutherland Springs shooting, which was stopped by a man who used one of the very guns Deerfield has now banned.
Writer Jack Burns predicts that some residents will refuse to follow the order or pay the fines, resulting in “major turmoil and arrests in the event of non-compliance.”
Indeed, some residents have already vowed to disobey the ban.
“There’s an ancient and honored American tradition called disobeying an unjust law…I have urged (people) to listen to their conscience and if so moved do not obey this law,” remarked Joel Siegel, a resident of Lincolnwood.
Deerfield Mayor Harriet Rosenthal suggested that she was moved to bring about the ban by the words of students from the local high school.
“Enough is enough,” Rosenthal said, adding, “Those students are so articulate just like our students. There is no place here for assault weapons.”
Second Amendment advocates have vowed to fight the ban in court with the help of the NRA.
