Kane County Reporter

Gun rights advocate Randy Cochran is asking Illinoisans to push back against gun control legislation being considered in the Illinois House. 

Cochran is the president of Kane County-based Data Center Enhancements Inc. He opposes HB5855 which would outlaw several types of common guns and magazines and create a registry whereby gun owners must inventory their guns. The bill would also disallow hunters younger than 21 years old from hunting alone and provide restrictions on firearm access to that group. 

“Illinois HB5855 is a nightmare bill that will deeply impact all legal firearms owners, yet does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to reduce crime,” Cochran said on Facebook. “This level of tyranny is the reason our Founding Fathers added the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution.” 

The lame-duck session of the General Assembly began this Wednesday, Rock Island Today reported. HB5855, the Protect Illinois Communities Act, is expected to be the top measure voted on during the session.

House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savannah) has suggested the bill is unconstitutional. “While HB 5855 is likely far from in its final form, the constitutionality of the bill will certainly go before the courts,” McCombie told Prairie State Wire. 

HB5855 outlaws several commonly owned types of firearms and magazines. As many as five million firearms and 10 million magazines in the state may be affected if the gun ban becomes law. Gun rights advocates have vowed to seek legal relief should the bill pass. A vote on the bill in the House is expected in the lame-duck session set to begin in early January. State Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback (D-Skokie) who co-sponsored the measure is in her final days in the chamber after losing a primary battle earlier this year.