Republicans in the Illinois Senate are preparing legislation they say would protect Illinois gun purchasers who bought firearms during a six-day period between contradictory federal court rulings over the state’s assault weapons ban.
State Senator Jason Plummer says the issue occurred when a judge in the Southern District of Illinois issued a temporary injunction on implementation of the law on April 28. Then on May 4, a federal appeals court put the law back in force after it blocked that injunction.
"What that means is for that period of time, that six days, Illinoisans, northern Illinois, southern Illinois, all across this state, could go to their local gun shop, they could buy a firearm and it was an absolutely, 100% lawful transaction."
Plummer says the Illinois Attorney General's office is calling gun purchases made between April 28 and May 4 illegal.
The Illinois Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the assault weapons ban case later this year.
