Lake County top prosecutor lobbies state legislators to pass assault weapon ban
From Daily Herald
January 6, 2022
LAKE COUNTY, IL - Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart added his voice Thursday to those urging state legislators to pass a ban on so-called assault weapons before the legislative session ends next week.
Rinehart spoke during a news conference held by the Gun Violence Prevention Political Action Committee. The PAC launched the #HalttheAssault campaign after seven people were killed last year at the Highland Park July 4 parade.
"No daughter should fear standing with their mother at a July Fourth parade," Rinehart said. "(Gun violence) is not a destiny, it's a decision."
He noted that although Highland Park had banned the sale of such weapons before the shooting, the suspect bought a military-style rifle legally elsewhere. Authorities say he used an M&P 15 semi-automatic rifle, with several 30-round ammunition magazines.
State Sen. Kam Buckner, a Chicago Democrat, said he is confident legislation could be considered "in the next couple of days." But when asked by a reporter if a ban shouldn't be a slam-dunk for passage, given Democratic control of the General Assembly, Buckner said there isn't a "gun safety" majority in both houses.
"Let's not look at this along party lines," he said.
Nevertheless, just past midnight Friday morning, the House did pass legislation filed by Speaker Chris Welch, on a 64-43 vote.
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Welch filed it as an amendment to SB2226, and it quickly made it out of committee before a late-night debate in the full House and a vote. The legislation would ban the manufacture, sale and possession of dozens of firearms defined by the state as assault weapons. Already-possessed guns on that list could be kept but would need to be registered with Illinois State Police within 300 days, ABC 7 reported. The bill also would increase the age to own a FOID card from 18 to 21, and set 10 as the limit of rounds per magazine.
There had been at least two bills pending concerning high-velocity, large-capacity weapons. House Bill 5855, introduced Dec. 1 by Democrat Rep. Bob Morgan of Highwood, was assigned to the Rules Committee. It appeared to be the basis for Thursday night's legislation. And in the Senate, SB2510 was filed in February 2021 by Democrat Sen. Omar Aquino of Chicago. It lingered in the Assignments Committee.
Buckner noted Highland Park wasn't the only mass shooting in the state in 2022. Others included one in November in the East Garfield Park neighborhood in Chicago, where one person was killed and 14 others injured, and a shooting outside a Near North Side McDonald's, where two people were killed and seven others injured.
Others speaking at the news conference earlier Thursday included Democrat Sen. Ram Villivalam of Chicago, and Pamela Bosley, founder of the Terrell Bosley Anti-Violence Association, named after an 18-year-old killed in a 2006 robbery outside a South Side church. Today would have been Terrell Bosley's 35th birthday, she noted.
