SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Ram Villivalam helped advance legislation from the Illinois Senate that bans the sale and manufacturing of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in Illinois Monday.

“All communities deserve to live free from gun violence,” said Villivalam (D-Chicago). “This measure upholds our commitment to building true public safety for all, and will undoubtedly reduce the ways dangerous people can obtain weapons of war.”

House Bill 5471 bans assault weapons and high-capacity magazines from being manufactured or sold in Illinois, with the most accurate and extensive list of weapons of war on the market today. The comprehensive gun safety package also places a ban on rapid-fire devices intended to make semiautomatic firearms fully automatic, closes a loophole that allowed manufacturers to circumvent the ban by repositioning grips, creates an anti-gun trafficking task force and increases the duration of a Firearm Restraining Order from six months to up to one year. A Firearm Restraining Order allows the family of a gun owner or law enforcement to obtain a civil order temporarily removing the firearm and ammunition from people who pose a risk of harm to themselves or others.

Senator Villivalam recently championed a new law requiring universal background checks prior to transferring a firearm to a new owner. House Bill 5471 expedites the implementation of these background checks to July 1, 2023.

House Bill 5471 passed the Illinois Senate and awaits concurrence in the Illinois House.