Residents of Deerfield, Illinois will have a choice to make about their legally owned firearms; turn them over to police or face fines up to $1,000 per day. The Deerfield Village Board voted unanimously to amend a gun control ordinance to include a ban on certain semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines. Residents will be required to turn over their weapons by June 13th or face the hefty fine.
Deerfield Village Manager Kent Street hopes that their ordinance will lead to other towns across the country passing similar legislation.
"If Highland Park, if Deerfield, if more towns say no to this type of weapon, maybe the state of Illinois says no," said Deerfield Village Manager Kent Street. "Maybe the Federal government says no."
The bill was mirrored after a similar ban that was enacted in Highland Park in 2013 and upheld by federal courts.
Residents appeared split on the new law. Deerfield High School student Stephen Nagy thanked the board for their action and said that the guns were "meant, for those who have malice in mind, for destruction."
"These weapons aren't necessary here in Deerfield or in anyplace," he said. "These objects are meant for enjoyment. They're for those who are law-abiding to have fun with them and they're meant, for those who have malice in mind, for destruction."
Cecilia Kowalik, a ninth grader, said she feels the ban makes the small town less safe.
"All too often we forget that criminals don't play by the rules. They target places [where] there are a lot of people with little protection," she said, pointing out one never hears about mass shooters attacking gun shops and citing data from gun control advocates that 92 percent of all mass shootings since 2009 have taken place in "gun-free" zones.
A board member of the Illinois State Rifle Association said the town should expect to have the law challenged in court.
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