50 Caliber Ban in IL
 

Has anybody heard of this bill they are trying to pass? Something to do with 50 caliber and that if it passes, makes basically every shotgun illegal. Can somebody confirm this or tell me I am full of it?

RE: 50 Caliber Ban in IL
 

not just an Illinois thing. This is a national thing. Basically the theory is that it is targeted at 50 BMG but in affect it is targeted agains any shotgun that is bigger bore than a 28 gauge and almost any Muzzle loader as well.

RE: 50 Caliber Ban in IL
 

IL Rancher:

How about more details. How does the 50 BMG ban apply to shotguns? I would assume they would word their ban not based on the caliber -- which would clearly apply to .50 muzzle loaders, and presumably shotguns too -- but on the specific cartridge, the .50 Browning Machine Gun cartridge. Is this not how the law reads? I believe California already has a .50 BMG ban. Does this mean California bans .50 cal muzzleloaders and shotguns over 28 gauge? I recall that you need at least .50 cal muzzleloader to hunt Elk during muzzleloader season in Colorado.

My sister lives in Bureau County, NW of Ohio. Her deceased husband used to hunt deer on some the property of some accommodating farmers there.

RE: 50 Caliber Ban in IL
 

Yeah, can somebody find the bill number or something. I guess I could try to find it too. If anyone has info or anything about this let us know. But it kind of sounds like a bill I read a couple of years ago and the printing said something about banning some guns, including 50 cal, but exceptions include sporting shotguns, not sure what it said about muzzleloaders though. I'll have to look this up, but either way state rep Jim Sacia will be hearing from me....

RE: 50 Caliber Ban in IL
 

There was an Illinois bill that would have done that but it was defeated a year or two back. It was broad enough in it's scope to include ML rifles and shotguns.

RE: 50 Caliber Ban in IL
 

I am only going on what I was told down at the local shop. The way the bill is written it is any 50 caliber or larger bored gun. This includs 20 gauges et all. I asked him if this was Illinois level and he said he believed it was nationwide. I don't think it applied to spherical ammo but I am not sure, this conversation I had with him was weeks and weeks ago. I'll talk to him again about it tomorrow.

These laws go into committies were they are often very vaguely written and than people start adding ammendments to make them better defined such as removing shotguns and muzzle loaders from the equation but if people don't complain a lot to reps and Senators you never know what will get put through. A lot of Bills get killed this way. You might even see that with the NR issues going on with the DNR in Illinois. We shall see, I'll let you folks now what he tells me tomorrow (He used to wok for Springfield arms and Armalite so he has some connections in the firearms industry)

RE: 50 Caliber Ban in IL
 

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/bill...8&SessionID=50
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/bill...3&SessionID=50
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/Bill...50&LegID=17433


I like this one:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/bill...2&SessionID=50

For a relatively current look at what's going on:
http://www.isra.org/legislation/

RE: 50 Caliber Ban in IL
 

It really bugs me when gun control advocates spread misinformation, and it annoys me even more when fellow sportsmen do it. Last year's 50 caliber ban bill did not include shotguns or muzzleloaders. As a matter of fact, it specifically excluded them. When I pointed this out to one of the ISRA guys last year in response to his "the sky is falling" sales pitch for membership (I even quoted that dang thing), he ignored the facts and he went right on with his fear-mongering.

The bill that's presently pending has absolutely nothing to do with shotguns or muzzleloaders. And if you read the entire text, you'll see that this is the case. The bill is very specific in what it covers, and your slug gun or Hawken isn't even in the ballpark. I personally hope it fails again, but not because of what some opponents are stretching the truth about.

If we as sportsmen are going to complain when our opponents lie, we should probably make sure we have our facts straight before opening our collective mouths.

RE: 50 Caliber Ban in IL
 

These three don't, but the one a few years back was broad enough that it could have been interpreted that way. I don't have the text on it anymore unfortunately. I don't remember the exact wording, though I remember reading the full text on it and that it left plenty of doubt in my mind.

RE: 50 Caliber Ban in IL
 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Gun bans are more of a 1st amendment violation than a 2nd.

I've seen crap that was so hideous that it could make anyone puke, but it's called art and I am forced to suffer with it. "If you don't like it, don't look at it." I ask you, what is the difference with firearms? Firearms in the hands of trained, safe, law abiding citizens, are no more dangerous to the public that a spitball.

This is simply a ban because somebody doesn't like the way the firearm looks, or they don't like what it is capable of. Using that logic, we need to ban every car made in America in the last 50 years. They are all capable of driving over the speed limit. We must protect society, so let's ban all the cars. There is no difference.

Banning a firearm infringes on my 1st and 2nd amendment rights. I thought the constitution had something in there against making laws that persecute a particular sect/part of society but every year, more and more gun owners are singled out and persecuted. Where does it stop?

Maybe we should start up a new outdoorsmen religion. We could make owning and shooting firearms part of our religious beliefs/practices. Wouldn't a gun ban then directly infringe on our religious rights?

Just some food for thought.