April 5 (UPI) — An Illinois town voted Monday to ban the possession fail and manufacture of assault weapons and large capacity magazines.
The ordinance signed by the Chicago suburb of Deerfield bans semiautomatic rifles with a fixed magazine and a capacity to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, shotguns with revolving cylinders, and conversion kits from which assault weapons can be assembled as well as specific models such as AR-15, AK-47 and Uzi.
“The possession, manufacture and sale of assault weapons in the Village of Deerfield is not reasonably necessary to protect an individual’s right of self-defense or the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia,” the ordinance states.
Antique handguns that have been rendered permanently inoperable and weapons designed for Olympic target shooting events are exempt from the ban, as are retired police officers.
Violations carry a fine between $250 and $1,000 levied each day until there is compliance.
The ban amends a 2013 ordinance that defined assault rifles and required the safe storage and safe transportation of those weapons within the village.
The rationale cited the mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, at a Las Vegas music festival and at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
“Assault weapons have been increasingly used in an alarming number of notorious mass shooting incidents at public schools, public venues, places of worship and places of public accommodation,” it read.
