House Passes Assault Weapons Ban, Senate Passage Uncertain
House Speaker Chris Welch and Governor JB Pritzker watch debate over banning assault weapons on the House floor early Friday morning. (Screen shot via Blueroom Stream)
NOTE: This story was originally posted for subscribers only. To receive subscriber-only newsletters and content, click here.
As the clocked ticked toward 1:00 A.M. Friday, the Illinois House passed a wide-ranging bill banning the sale of most semi-automatic rifles and limiting the capacity of handgun magazines over strong Republican objections and without a Senate commitment of passage.
The legislation was toned down in places from an original bill that dropped before Christmas. A provision raising the minimum age of a FOID card recipient from 18 to 21 was removed from the bill. Another provision limiting handgun magazines to ten rounds was increased to 12.
House Speaker Chris Welch sponsored the final version of the legislation and said the issue was too important to wait any longer for action.
“Gun violence is impacting communities in every single corner of this state,” he said. “This is an important step in getting these dangerous weapons meant for battlefields out of our neighborhoods.”
While some Republicans claim the bill would require gun owners to give up their semi-automatic rifles, Welch said it isn’t the case.
“There will be no removal of these weapons from people that already own them,” he said. “We are not taking any guns away from lawful gun owners.”
But assault weapon owners would have to register serial numbers of their weapons with the state.
Many Republicans, including incoming House Republican Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna), claimed the bill punishes lawful gun owners without addressing the root causes of gun violence.
“[This bill] is the latest attempt to ban firearms. It will make criminals out of law abiding citizens,” McCombie said. “This will not stop gun violence in Illinois. This bill does not address the real issues and the solutions to those issues. The weapon is not the issue, it’s who is wielding that weapon. This bill does not address that.”
Some Democrats tried to point crime at gun owners.
“Lawful gun owners are lawful until they’re not,” said Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield), who wrote the original bill and was in attendance at the July 4 parade that was attacked by a shooter with a high powered rifle.
“We want to see kids grow up and laugh and love and play without the fear of getting gunned down in schools and on playgrounds,” Welch said.
But opponents claimed the legislature should be attacking handgun violence first.
“This bill does not fix handgun violence on the south and west sides [of Chicago],” said Rep. Seth Lewis (R-Bartlett). “As much as we may want to talk about it, this doesn’t do it. No one wants to see children killed in their neighborhoods. That is not a partisan issue. It’s not one sided.”
Outgoing House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) was the only GOP member to vote for the bill.
Four House Democrats, Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-Chicago Heights), Rep. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island), Rep. Larry Walsh (D-Elwood), and Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa) all voted against the legislation.
Final passage is not guaranteed in the Senate, though. Sources indicate there are likely enough votes in the Senate to pass the bill, but there are concerns over the constitutionality of the law. The Senate adjourned early Friday and isn’t expected to return to Springfield until Sunday.