In the wake of the horrific events that left 17 students dead, Deerfield, Illinois has moved forward with legislation banning certain weapons in their town. Harriet Rosenthal, the town’s mayor, has decided that enough is enough.
In a recent statement to the press, the politician “directed staff and the Village attorney to prepare a report concerning the implementation of a ban of assault weapons.”
She went on to say “I believe the time has now come to revisit a complete ban of assault weapons”. The rest of the towns board was in agreement. On April 7th they passed legislation that will outlaw owning, selling, or producing assault rifles or accessories in Deerfield. The law goes into act on June 13th.
Illegal weapon features under the law now include semi-automatic rifles, capacity of more than 10 bullets, fixed magazines and shotguns with rotating cylinders allowing for rapid fire.
Harsh penalties will be applied to anyone who does not comply with the new laws. Any citizen that does not give their weapon up could be fined $1,000 per day for each rifle.
The law reasons that assault rifles should not be protected under the Second Amendment.
Direct from the ordinance itself:
“The possession, manufacture, and sale of assault weapons in the Village of Deerfield is not reasonably necessary to protect an individual’s right to self-defense or the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia”
The town hopes that their newly passed laws will be replicated around the world.
The NRA has other thoughts about the new law and plans to repeal it. John Box the presidents of a gun organization had the following to say regarding the law:
“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”
It’s clear that there will be a long and arduous battle ahead — whichever side of the debate you fall on.