Inspired by the Parkland shooting, officials in Deerfield, Illinois said assault weapons are “not reasonably necessary to protect an individual’s right or self-defense.”
Village Board of Trustees members in Deerfield, Illinois, a suburb and village outside of Chicago, voted Monday night to ban the possession, sale, and manufacture of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in their community.
After the February high school shooting that killed 17 students and staff in Parkland, Florida, Deerfield Mayor Harriet Rosenthal "directed staff and the Village attorney to prepare a report concerning the implementation of a ban of assault weapons," according to a press release.
"I believe the time has now come to revisit a complete ban of assault weapons,” Mayor Rosenthal said.
On Monday night, the Deerfield Village Board unanimously approved the ban of assault weapons that will be effective starting June 13.
Orlando Sierra / AFP / Getty Images
The ordinance also list specific models, including the AR-15 and AK-47, to be banned.
A violation of the ban — i.e. any resident who does not give up their assault weapons by June 13 — will be fined up to $1,000 a day for each offense, the town said.
Anyone in violation, and fined, could also be forced to "forfeit to the Village any assault weapon," the ordinance states.
Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images
The Deerfield city ordinance contends assault weapons are not covered by the Second Amendment.
"The possession, manufacture, and sale of assault weapons in the Village of Deerfield is not reasonably necessary to protect an individual's right or self-defense or the preservation of efficiency of a well-regulated militia," the ordinance reads.
A spokesperson for The Brady Campaign, a nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control, told BuzzFeed News that they "applaud" the actions by Deerfield "to keep their citizens safer."
"These ordinances have clearly and correctly been ruled constitutional, and we hope that Highland Park and Deerfield serve as positive examples for other communities moving forward," the organization added.
The NRA and Illinois State Rifle Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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