CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Gun rights advocates are up in arms as a new Illinois bill could see firearm advertisements banned in the state.
The legislation, which Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker pledged to sign, would outlaw the advertising of firearms allegedly marketed to kids, militant groups and anyone else who may later use the weapons illegally.
Gun rights groups claimed the language of the bill is too vague and stomps on their constitutional rights.
The ads can be found in trade magazines, websites and even on social media — gun ads marketed to Americans of all ages.
“Anyone can look at that and know it’s irresponsible,” Ryan Busse said.
Busse, a former firearms executive turned gun safety advocate, said he’s not surprised Illinois lawmakers are enacting measures to regulate the industry.
“The industry used to guard against this itself, it used to regulate itself. It didn’t allow this kind of advertising, it didn’t even allow tactical gear in its own trade shows. Now, the sort of thing that’s being advertised in the open, is frankly — it’s shocking and it’s irresponsible,” Busse said.
Other experts argue gun manufacturers have a legal right to promote their products. Many see a ban on gun ads as a direct violation of their civil liberties.
“It looks to me like this is a frontal attack, not just on the Second Amendment, but on the First as well,” said Dave Workman, a spokesperson for the Second Amendment Foundation.
As for the notion the bill is geared toward kids, Workman said the legislation is targeting the wrong people.
“As we all know, you can’t purchase any kind of firearm under the age of 18, so I don’t see how this possibly could be directed at youngsters who legally couldn’t buy these in the first place,” Workman said. “It’s the parent who would be buying this thing.”
Defenders of the new law said they’re not coming after gun manufacturers, they’re just holding them to the same standards as the alcohol and tobacco industries. Except those companies aren’t producing constitutionally protected products.
“I don’t see anything in the Bill of Rights that says we have a right to smoke, nor do I see anything in the Bill of Rights that says, ‘Hey, you know we have a right to drink,'” Workman said.
With the passing of this new law, Illinois would become the eighth state in the country to ban certain types of advertising of guns. New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Washington, California, Hawaii and Colorado have all adopted similar legislation.