Rep. Dan Swanson | Facebook
Rep. Dan Swanson | Facebook
State Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Alpha) recently said that HB5855, the Protect Illinois Communities Act, will have an immediate economic impact on Illinois’ arms manufacturers, including Rock River Arms in Colona.
“Springfield Armory and Rock River Arms are manufacturers of guns. L.W. Schneider is a manufacturer of parts for guns. They manufacture parts of Springfield Armory or Rock River arms or other arms dealers would use in their manufacturing of their guns,” Swanson said. “So we're talking north of 1,000 employees between those three businesses that would be affected and then take it that second and third order effect. If there's no guns in Illinois, what's going to happen to those mom and pop sports stores there on the street corner?”
HB5855 would outlaw several types of common guns and magazines. It would also require gun owners to inventory their guns and register them. The bill would also disallow those under 21 from purchasing weapons and from hunting alone
“Rock River Arms is owned and operated by brothers Mark and Chuck Larson,” an unofficial Facebook page reads. “Between 1981 and 1991 the Larsons worked at Springfield Armory, Inc., where Mark was the head armorer. From Springfield Armory, the Larsons went into partnership with Les Baer to form Les Baer Custom and build custom 1911 pistols. Parting ways with Baer in 1993, the Larsons began to build AR-15 type rifles for Eagle Arms in Coal Valley, Illinois.
The arms manufacturer employs over 15 workers and has an estimated revenue of $11 million per year.
Opponents say If the bill is signed into law, Rock River Arms, that has a contract to produce weapons for the Drug Enforcement Agency, will be unfavorably impacted.
According to The Center Square, the bill passed the House on Friday morning.
The bill's opponents aren't happy. “You could get polls to say anything you want. This governor’s got an agenda. He wants to run for president,” State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) told The Center Square. “He needs to have another plank in his platform.”
Alerts Sign-up