CNN "CNN Newsroom" - TRANSCRIPT Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) is Interviewed about an Assault Weapons Law; New Policies for Access to Naloxone; Xavier Becerra is Interviewed about Access to Naloxone; Trump Organization Fined $1.6 Million; Mega Millions Reaches $1.35 Billion. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Interview

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SCIUTTO: This week, Illinois became the ninth state to ban assault weapons. The law, which Presidents Biden and Obama have praised, bans certain firearms such as the AR-15-style rifle used in so many mass shootings, including Uvalde and Highland Park shootings last year, as well as high-capacity magazines. That said, a growing number of sheriffs in Illinois say they have issues with parts of the legislation, such as the requirement for existing owner of semi- automatic rifles to register them with the Illinois State Police. The sheriffs say they are not going to enforce that portion of the law.

Here with me now is the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker.

Governor, thanks for taking the time this morning.

GOV. JB PRITZKER (D-IL): Glad to be with you.

SCIUTTO: So, you have sheriffs, in effect, openly defying this law, or saying they might, that they won't enforce a key provision of it. Are you concerned about your ability to enforce it?

PRITZKER: Well, the requirement over the next year is for anybody that owns an existing assault weapon or any weapon that's banned under this law to register them, the serial numbers, with our state police. So, they have a year. There isn't any need for sheriffs to be enforcing anything over the next year.

So, you know, I think it's a lot of grandstanding, frankly. And I know there's some of them that are opposed to the law. But the fact is, they've signed an oath of office to uphold and enforce the laws of the state of Illinois. And I expect them to do so.

SCIUTTO: What penalty would state residents pay if they don't abide by that and within the next year come forward and register their weapons in this category?

PRITZKER: Well, it begins with a fine. If they -- if they don't - you know, if they're caught, under this law, it begins with a fine. But a second instance, it is a class four felony.

SCIUTTO: Gotcha.

PRITZKER: So, you know, we expect people to follow -- look, most people in Illinois want to do the right thing and will. We also have cut off their ability to buy more assault weapons as of right now. That is the law of the land today.

SCIUTTO: Right.

PRITZKER: There's no purchasing or selling of these weapons in Illinois.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you about the effects of this. Earlier this year you noted on Twitter that the majority of guns used in cities, such as Chicago, came from outside of Illinois. I've heard the same from police in other states, such as New York. They talk about an iron pipeline from the south. Does a state gun law like yours work given that folks can traffic this stuff in from outside the state?

PRITZKER: There's no doubt in my mind that we'd be way better off if there was a federal law. But the fact is that the larger the coverage of an assault weapon ban, the safer our residents are. So having a statewide ban is certainly the first step. There were individual bans, even in Highland Park. But, you know, the shooter in Highland Park simply went to another county -

SCIUTTO: Yes.

PRITZKER: Another city in another county in Illinois and purchased one. So, you know, we need an assault weapons ban nationally. And I've spoken with the president about this and with members of Congress. We, obviously, need to elect gun safety advocates at the federal level like we did here at the state level.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

I just wonder if that's a realistic option because you did have, until a couple weeks ago, right, Democrats controlling not just the White House but both chambers of Congress and they couldn't move an assault weapons ban. They knew they didn't have the votes, particularly without 60 votes in the Senate.

I mean is it a realistic prospect for a national ban given those numbers?

PRITZKER: Well, let me remind you that we, too, here in Illinois had Democratic house and senate, a Democratic governor, and we had trouble moving an assault weapons ban for many years. And we were able to do it this time for a variety of reasons. The biggest one is that the survivors and the families of victims came together to, first of all, get everybody engaged in electing gun safety advocates in November, and then came together with the legislature to pass something really meaningful.

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So, it can happen in Washington, D.C. But I -- it is true, the NRA and their affiliates are very powerful, but we've overcome them here in Illinois.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

Well, you have another institution here to have a look at, right, and that is a very conservative Supreme Court. You did have events this week where they agreed to allow a New York handgun restriction law to remain in effect, but there was a note from Justices Alito and Thomas, two of the most conservative, in effect saying that applicants should not be deterred by today's order, which some read as an invitation to gun rights groups to challenge these laws. Do you worry that laws, state laws like your own, will die in the Supreme Court?

PRITZKER: Well, of course, we are concerned about the rightward turn -- significant rightward turn of the Supreme Court. But the note that Alito and Clarence Thomas put out was a note about the procedural context of this law that they left in place. I -- we know the way they're going to vote. But I have to say, we have eight states that have passed assault weapons bans. We're the ninth state. So, we believe that the Supreme Court will take into account the fact that these are established law, have been for some time, and that these are weapons that kill people, worshippers in church and students at school and we'll leave in place our ban because these weapons truly are some of the most dangerous.

SCIUTTO: Right. And, of course, it passed the Supreme Court muster many years ago when a national ban was passed in the '90s.

Governor Pritzker, we appreciate you joining the broadcast this morning.

PRITZKER: Thank you, Jim.

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