Illinois has some of the strongest gun laws in the country, and much of its gun violence is due to guns trafficked in from neighboring states with weak laws.
Recently, Illinois has taken critical action to invest in community violence intervention programs, close gaps in its firearm relinquishment laws, strengthen background check processes, regulate the ghost gun industry, and comprehensively restrict uniquely dangerous weapons like large-capacity magazines and assault weapons. In 2022, Illinois had the twentieth lowest gun death rate among the states. In an average year, 1,657 people die from gun violence in the state. That means someone dies from gun violence every 5 hours. Thirty-six percent of those deaths are gun suicides, and 62% are gun homicides. In Illinois, the rate of gun deaths increased 68% from 2013 to 2022, compared to a 36% increase nationwide.
What Illinois Does Well
- Universal background checks
- Gun owner licensing
- Extreme risk protection orders
- Domestic violence gun laws
- Community violence intervention funding
- Minimum age laws
- Waiting periods
- Open carry regulations
- Lost & stolen firearm reporting
- Ghost gun regulations
- Assault weapon restrictions
- Large capacity magazine ban
- Regulating gun dealers
What Illinois Is Missing
- Central searchable law enforcement repository of firearm sale records
- Gun violence victims’ access to justice and firearm industry accountability law
- Firearm access restrictions for people convicted of most violent misdemeanors
- Bulk firearm purchase restrictions
- Stronger local authority to regulate firearms
- Stronger child access prevention or safe storage laws
SPOTLIGHT
GUN LAW SCORECARD
The data is clear: states with stronger gun laws have less gun violence. See how your state compares in our annual ranking.
Read MoreEXPLORE ILLINOIS’S GUN LAWS
WHO CAN HAVE A GUN
OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES
CHILD & CONSUMER SAFETY
GUNS IN PUBLIC
HARDWARE & AMMUNITION
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We’re in this together. To build a safer America—one where children and parents in every neighborhood can learn, play, work, and worship without fear of gun violence—we need you standing beside us in this fight.
