The Illinois State Police today posted the Week 6 Compliance numbers for the so-called “Protect Illinois Communities Act” gun registration scheme.  It’s not pretty.  We are at the half-way point of the three month window for registering banned guns, accessories and ammo.  So far though, gun owners haven’t been impressed with this new requirement.

In fact, 99.9% of all gun owners in the Land of Lincoln have opted not to register a blessed thing.  This, much to Gov. JB Pritzker’s chagrin.

533 additional gun owners did register something this past week.  That leaves 2,412,042 that haven’t registered anything at this point.

Sure, not all of them own the most popular self-defense rifles and shotguns.  But you can pretty much count on the majority owning something on the very long list of prohibited items in the PICA bill.

GUNS SAVE LIFE’S RECOMMENDATION:  DO NOT REGISTER.

Governor Pritzker signed the so-called “Protect Illinois Communities Act” on January 10th.  It was supposed to, well, “protect” Illinois communities.

Clearly it’s completely disarmed and neutered gang members in Chicago, right?  Note that Glock Switch on Mr. Friends’ Gat.

Or these aspiring rocket scientists.

Included in the bill is that law-abiding Land o’ Lincoln residents are supposed to register their self-defense firearms during a roughly three-month window from October 1st through December 31, 2023.  Young scholars like those above are exempted from the registration requirement because, well, they’re criminals.

Guns Save Life recommends that FOID holders in Illinois simply decline to participate in this scheme.

There is nothing to gain by registering “naughty” guns at this time and lots of reasons not to.

As of this writing, our state’s gun owners have spoken with their thoughts about registering.  In short, they’re not.  The Illinois State Police have achieved a .1% compliance rate among FOID holders registering their “banned” firearms.  3400 of 2.4 million.

You ask, what are reasons not to register?

First and foremost, what guns you own and where you own them at is none of the state’s business.  Furthermore, the law may be struck down by the courts.

Secondly, if you lose your FOID card for any reason, you must relinquish ownership in all registered items – and you can NEVER get them back.  Even if it’s the state’s fault for not processing a FOID renewal in a timely manner.  Or if it’s the suspension of your FOID card due to a malicious or vexatious preliminary order of protection (including those ex-parte orders where you don’t get due process before a judge signs away your 2A rights.  Yes, even if it’s later ruled to be an unfounded allegation.

Want a third reason?  Governor Pritzker has already strategized about promoting legislation that would “close the existing owner loophole” next year after the registration period ends.  The triggering event for closing this “loophole” and demanding all of the registered guns be turned in within 90 to 120 days would be the first mass casualty incident, especially if it happens in Illinois.  The event in Lewiston, Maine as an example of what would trigger Gov. Pritzker to publicly promote this proposal.

Want another reason?  Yeah, you registered your goose gun.  And your AR-15.  You still can’t use them to hunt geese or coyotes on public lands.  You can’t even legally take them with you to a cabin at a state park, under the terms of the law.  So why register?

So, don’t register your firearms.

You have options.  You can move them out of state and store them with a friend or relative.  You can bury them or lose them in a boating accident.  You could even simply ignore the law’s provisions and keep a low profile.

IF you are inclined to go ahead and register them, and your circumstances don’t change, wait until the last week of December to do so.