By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
Gun owners in Illinois will soon be required to take additional measures to keep their weapons out of the hands of children under a new law signed Monday, July 28 by Governor JB Pritzker.
In addition, law enforcement officers in the state must now start tracing the ownership of any firearm that is recovered from a crime scene, used unlawfully or is believed to be associated with a crime.
Pritzker signed those bills into law at a time when federal courts are growing increasingly skeptical of state and local efforts to curb gun violence. A federal court of appeals is preparing to hear arguments in a challenge to Illinois’ most significant recent gun restriction — a ban on assault-style weapons and large capacity magazines.
For more on the new law, please see this week’s print edition.