Illinois Democrats have introduced legislation that would effectively ban the sale of certain handguns to civilians, sparking serious concerns among Second Amendment supporters.

House Bill 4045 and its companion, Senate Bill 2652, would make it a felony to manufacture, sell, or transfer pistols deemed “convertible,” a label aimed at Glock handguns that criminals have illegally modified with auto-switch devices. The device modifications are done to convert handguns into fully automatic weapons.

Proponents of the legislation claim it is intended to address criminal misuse of auto-switch devices. However, these devices are already banned under both state and federal law. Senate Republicans argue that rather than cracking down on the criminals who break existing laws, the new proposals would target responsible gun owners and licensed firearm dealers.

Senate Republicans say that the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that bans on commonly owned handguns violate the Constitution. They contend that this proposal appears to be a backdoor attempt to sidestep that ruling and further restrict the rights of responsible gun owners who follow the law.