SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) State Lodge President Chris Southwood issued the following statement regarding the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the law that bans the sale and further regulates the ownership of semiautomatic weapons in Illinois:
“The Illinois General Assembly’s recent actions have made it harder and more dangerous to be a cop and for police officers to protect the general public. Now, with this decision, the Illinois Supreme Court has indicated it is willing to go along with a law that removes an important self-defense option for law-abiding citizens to use when the police aren’t nearby. Thankfully, this case will now be taken to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Illinois’ citizens may be given the fighting chance they deserve.”
“Make no mistake, criminals will always find a way to use banned firearms against the police and the citizens we are sworn to protect. Suddenly making law-abiding citizens into criminals will put all of us more at the mercy of lawbreakers. We are optimistic that the U.S. Supreme Court will strike down this law and keep police from becoming dreaded, gun-confiscating agents of the government.”
The Fraternal Order of Police, founded in 1915, is the largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. With a proud tradition of officers representing officers, the FOP is the most respected and most recognized police organization in the country. The Illinois FOP, chartered in 1963, is the second largest State Lodge, proudly representing more than 34,000 active duty and retired police officers – more than 10 percent of all FOP members nationwide. Visit www.ilfop.org for more information.