G-PAC URGES LAWMAKERS TO PASS DIY MACHINE GUN LEGISLATION

For Immediate Release
May 19, 2026

Advocates Rally in Springfield, Call on General Assembly to Pass Responsible Gun Manufacturing Act

CHICAGO – The Gun Violence Prevention PAC of Illinois (G-PAC), the state’s leading gun violence prevention organization, today joined with Everytown for Gun Safety and advocates to urge the General Assembly to pass the Responsible Gun Manufacturing Act before spring session adjourns.

Sponsored by Rep. Justin Slaughter and Sen. Celina Villanueva, House Bill 4471/Senate Bill 2801 will address the growing public safety threat of do-it-yourself machine guns.

“The proliferation of DIY machine guns is undermining the courageous effort of Illinois leaders who led the country in gun violence prevention when they enacted the Protect Illinois Communities Act and banned automatic weapons,” said Kathleen Sances, G-PAC President and CEO. “Lawmakers can lead once again this spring by passing the Responsible Gun Manufacturing Act to hold gun manufacturers accountable for a product that is being sold and turned into a weapon of war. Capable of mass violence and mass tragedy, DIY machine guns have no place in our communities, and this bill will continue to prioritize protecting innocent lives over the gun lobby.”

DIY machine guns are made using a “switch,” which is no bigger than the size of a coin and turns a standard, semi-automatic pistol into an automatic weapon that can fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute. Though switches are banned both federally and in Illinois, their availability is growing because they are inexpensive devices that can be easily obtained, including anyone with a 3D printer at home.

According to Everytown for Gun Safety, Chicago police recovered more than 1,600 switches between 2021 and 2024, including at two mass shootings, and they are believed to have been used in shooting deaths of several law enforcement officers.

The Responsible Gun Manufacturing Act will go further than current law by banning the sale of weapons in Illinois that can be converted into illegal machine guns. It would require the gun industry to put in place safer design to prevent weapons from being converted into DIY machine guns. In effect, the legislation would prevent convertible guns from being made in the first place.

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Rick Ryan

As the Lake County State’s Attorney, I am honored and humbled every day to lead the fight against crime, and to strive to ensure equal and just treatment under the law. I have been an attorney for twenty-two years – and each of those years has made me a stronger and smarter advocate for people, for ideas, and for the principles that unite us all.

I am so proud to lead an office of 140 dedicated colleagues who serve the public by prosecuting crime, advocating for victims, and planning crime prevention programs. I am also proud to work with hundreds of Lake County police officers on a daily basis to connect with every community and to develop comprehensive, holistic plans to respond to the mental health and economic crisis that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic.

On one particular day, July 4, 2022, I was saddened, inspired, and motivated by the bravery of so many people. We will always stand with the victims and honor the police and other first responders who ran toward the danger. Just as so many heroes that day thought only of themselves, I also witnessed the prosecutors in my office answer the call to serve survivors and their community – even on one of its darkest days.

Every moment that I have been your legal representative, I have worked tirelessly to oversee prosecutions and to implement policies that make my family and my neighbors safer in the short term and in the long term. That is the job of the State’s Attorney: to prosecute, to innovate, and to strategically plan.

I was raised in a small town. My parents are teachers, and from them, I learned that everyone must be treated equally and that America’s sacred mission is to provide a political, economic, and legal system that allows anyone to prosper regardless of the circumstances of their birth. After graduating from Knox College and the University of Chicago Law School, I spent two years at a first-rate civil law firm in Chicago where I learned that hard work and attention to detail on every case mean the difference between success and failure.

With my wonderful wife Stephanie, I am raising my two sons, Sam and Teddy, in Lake County. Nothing is more important to me than my family’s safety and I bring that passion and determination to protect all families with me to work every day.

I joined the Lake County Public Defender’s Office in 2003 and started my own law firm in 2009. From 2003 until 2020, I watched the Lake County legal system fail to prioritize violent crime, prevent wrongful prosecutions, or address racial disparities.

So, in 2019, I decided to run for State’s Attorney so that I could serve our community by improving a local legal system that cared more about covering up its mistakes and biases than uncovering new and innovative ways to help people.

I won the 2020 election, and became the first Democrat to hold this position in 40 years. Bringing in a new party wasn’t as important as ending 40 years of one mindset that had forgotten the people and that had failed to act urgently to develop new strategic plans to prevent crime while also ensuring that each prosecution is smart, moral, and just.

We have followed through on our promises. We have built the first-ever violent crimes unit, increased prosecutors in our domestic violence division, and vastly upgraded our cyber lab. Now, we have top-notch software and personnel to finally keep up with those who would exploit others.

We have been awarded a large federal grant to bring the first ever Human Trafficking Task Force to Lake County. We have deepened our investment in people by bringing in more victim specialists and raising the salaries of many of our prosecutors.

But the work goes on. We must expand our prevention efforts that are starting with the Gun Violence Prevention Initiative launched in 2022. And we know that the opioid crisis touches thousands of lives throughout this country.

I am proud to serve on the Executive Board of the Lake County Opioid Initiative which has been working tirelessly since its founding in 2012 to reverse a devastating trend of increased overdoses. In 2022, our office was part of a national settlement against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

As an attorney of 22 years, I have committed my life to helping people, and I have conducted over 70 jury trials in Lake County, and handled appeals that have culminated in over 20 oral arguments before the appellate court and Supreme Court of Illinois.

I see my time in this office as the next phase of helping a community that I love and where I have chosen to raise my family. In my first term, we have made Lake County safer and fairer through just prosecutions, constitutional policing, and innovative crime prevention policies.