Kankakee Times

House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savannah) marked the final House hearing of the year. 

The Dec. 20 House Judiciary Committee hearing focused on HB5855, the Protect Illinois Communities Act. The bill would outlaw over 100 common types of firearms and accessories. 

“Last committee hearing for the year!” McCombie posted on Facebook. “Today we heard from proponents and opponents on HB5855 and we will see where the bill goes during Lame Duck Session which begins Jan 4th! Thank you to all of you that have voiced your opinion on the bill.” 

She encouraged supporters to fill out a witness slip.

The new House Minority Leader previously said the bill is unconstitutional. “While HB 5855 is likely far from in its final form, the constitutionality of the bill will certainly go before the courts,” McCombie told Prairie State Wire. 

Guns Save Life founder John Boch spoke out against the legislation. He said that HB 5855 would criminalize the owners of semi-automatic weapons and will harbor pro-gun sentiment. “I think this bill is going to be what’s gonna wake up the sleeping giants who say ‘hey, no, we’ve had enough. You never are satisfied by taking little pieces so we’re going to take a bigger chunk of the pie back this time,’” Boch told WMAY, according to Lake County Gazette. “(Bill sponsor Rep.) Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) is going to lose in court, and not only is he going to lose this, but I anticipate he’s going to get a whole lot of Illinois gun laws that are currently on the books struck, and that’s going to lead to a much safer society for all of us from criminals.”

Critics have argued the legislation will have little effect on criminals but rather criminalize law-abiding Illinoisans. “I would say it’s somewhere between two and 10 million magazines, and it’s a massive impact,” Dan Eldridge, of gun dealers’ association Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois told The Center Square. “These are the standard magazines that come with a duty-sized pistol even, they’re the standard magazines that come with a rifle. These are not aftermarket extended capacity magazines.” He added that, “With an immediate effective date, mere possession of a – and I’m not going to use their words, I’m going to use accurate words – mere possession of a standard-capacity magazine is a crime. There’s no getting around that. So you’ve got Second Amendment issues. You’ve got Fourth Amendment issues. You’ve got Fourteenth Amendment issues. You can’t do this.”