SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The state of Illinois says ‘government has no authority’ to impose criminal penalties for those not registering banned firearms.

In their response to a Fifth Amendment challenge to the state’s gun ban and registry, attorneys for the state say the right against self-incrimination isn’t violated by the registry. They argue it’s a “voluntary benefit that exempts owners of certain” firearms from penalties, that the “government has no authority to impose” penalties on those that don’t register and the idea someone would be prosecuted for what they file is “not real.”

The filing is part of the ongoing litigation that the plaintiff’s attorney Thomas Maag predicts will get to the merits of the issue in the months ahead.

Illinois State Police have updated the gun ban registration numbers to include those who registered after the Jan. 1 deadline. On top of the nearly 30,000 who registered before the deadline, nearly 5,900 have registered since.