69,000 Assault Weapons Registered by December 31
State Police report some 69,000 assault weapons were registered with the state by the December 31 deadline laid out in the legislation banning the sale of assault weapons that went into effect last year.
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After the new registry provision in the assault weapon ban law took effect January 1, Illinois State Police report around 69,000 weapons were registered before the end of December.
Around 43,000 “accessories” were registered along with about 500 registrations categorized as “ammunition.”
About 29,000 gun owners registered a weapon or accessory before December 31. There are around 2.4 million FOID card holders in the state.
But it isn’t clear how many of the weapons at issue were actually registered. State Police say there is no estimate as to how many weapons that fall under the registry criteria exist in the state.
But it’s expected thousands or tens of thousands of guns weren’t registered before the deadline.
The law continues to face multiple legal challenges.
If a gun owner were found not to be in compliance with the registry, they face a misdemeanor on their first offense.