On the eve of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s second inauguration, tensions flared among Democrats over a proposal to ban high-powered firearms.
SPRINGFIELD — On the eve of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s second inauguration, tensions flared among Democrats over a proposal to ban high-powered firearms as the Illinois Senate introduced a measure that the governor and other supporters contend is weaker than a version the House approved last week.
“The people of this state deserve a real assault weapons ban, one that has a real accounting of the weapons currently in circulation and a real chance at ceasing the flow of more weapons of war immediately.” In response, Harmon spokesman John Patterson said the two chambers “have shared goals” on the issues of banning so-called assault weapons and expanding abortion protections, another Democratic priority in the days before a new General Assembly is sworn in Wednesday.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Sunday weighed in on the matter, urging the Senate in a Twitter post to pass the House proposal “so that everyone in the great state of Illinois is protected from the transphobic attacks of other more restrictive states.”On guns, one major difference between the House and Senate proposals centers around the requirement for owners to register guns that would be designated as assault weapons with law enforcement within about a year of the measure taking effect.
“Survivors, gun violence victims deserve a bill with teeth and that means we deserve a ban that we can enforce,” she said. “So it is imperative that the part of the bill, the serialization, that that stays intact because we need to be able to track these guns, we need to know who’s allowed to own them and that will protect legal owners, and we need to know who shouldn’t have them. And that is where we’ll be able to enforce the ban and save lives.
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