Faith Leaders Call on Legislators to Pass the Protect Illinois Communities Act
Over 75 faith leaders lend their support in open letter to state legislature
January 4, 2023
CHICAGO, IL - Today, dozens of multi-denominational faith leaders congregated at the Good Hope Free Will Baptist Church to express their support for a ban on both assault weapons and high capacity magazines and urge legislators to vote yes on the Protect Illinois Communities Act. The Good Hope Free Will Baptist Church, located in East Garfield Park, is just a few blocks from where a mass shooting took place in October 2022, when 14 people were wounded and one died.
“Bright futures and innocent lives are continuously being gunned down," said Reverend Ira Acree, pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church in Austin. “Rifles, AK-47s and combat weapons should not be in the hands of ordinary citizens.”
At the press conference, Pastor Cornelius Parks of the Good Hope Free Will Baptist Church, Reverend Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church, Reverend Marshall Hatch of New Mount Pilgrim Church, Reverend Janette Wilson of Rainbow PUSH, Rabbi Ike Serotta of Lakeside Congregation of Reform Judaism, Pastor John Edgerton of the First United Church of Oak Park, Bishop Simon Gordon of the Triedstone Church of Chicago, Imam Abdullah Madhyun of Masjid Al Ihsan, and Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Catholic Church all spoke about the urgency of passing the Protect Illinois Communities Act to save lives.
“High capacity magazines have no use but as weapons of war—they make our streets a battleground and have no place in our state,” stated Pastor John Edgerton, the president of the Community of Congregation and Pastor of First United Church of Oak Park.
Additionally today, over 75 faith leaders released a letter calling on legislators to pass the Protect Illinois Communities Act. In the letter, they write, “While we may practice different faiths, we are united in keeping our communities free and safe from weapons of war that have no place in our schools, houses of worship, movie theaters, playgrounds, or streets.”
Read the full letter and see the signers here.
“Military assault weapons have nothing to do with home protection or sport hunting, and have no place on civilian streets,” says Pastor Marshall Hatch of New Mount Pilgrim Church-Chicago. “A majority of the citizens in Illinois support the ban on these high capacity hand held killing machines because we know our streets are safer without them.”
The Protect Illinois Communities Act, introduced by Representative Bob Morgan earlier this month, includes legislation that would ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, facilitate better implementation and efficacy of Illinois’s Firearm Restraining Order (FRPO) law, and address illegal gun trafficking in the state.
“We have allowed the modern reading of the second amendment to blind us to the real revolutionary words of the constitution that guarantee our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Assault weapons and large ammo magazines deprive people of life and destroy the liberty and happiness of victims and their families,” said Rabbi Ike Serrota of Lakeside Congregation of Reform Judaism.
A poll released by Everytown for Gun Safety last month demonstrated that these gun safety measures have widespread support across the state. Overall, 52% of Illinoisans believe gun laws in Illinois should be stronger, including nearly three quarters of Black voters and 56% of Hispanic voters. A ban on assault weapons has the support of 58% of Illinoisans.
