Illinois legislators OK rules for banned guns registry

SPRINGFIELD — A bipartisan panel of Illinois lawmakers approved guidelines Tuesday covering how state police will maintain and enforce a registry of gun owners who possess high-powered firearms that are now banned.

The requirement for residents who possessed guns covered by the ban before it took effect on Jan. 10, 2023, to register those firearms by Jan. 1 has been one of the law’s most controversial aspects.

During Tuesday’s hearing of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, or JCAR, state police officials addressed issues raised by Republican legislators who oppose the ban that ranged from privacy for gun owners to what information would be available to police when they stop someone whose firearm information is in the registry.

State Rep. Ryan Spain, a Peoria Republican who co-chairs the panel, unsuccessfully called for a motion to block permanent rules from being put into place. Spain criticized the state police for filing their proposed enforcement rules too close to…