Gun control legislation advances in Illinois state Senate

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Published time: January 03, 2013 07:51
Edited time: January 03, 2013 11:53

An LAPD officer stands before collected assault weapons during the LAPD Gun Buyback Program event in the Van Nuys area of north Los Angeles, on December 26, 2012. (AFP Photo/Joe Klamar)

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Arms, Law, Politics, Security, USA

A state Senate panel in Illinois has approved bans on both assault weapons and high capacity clips. A floor vote on the measures, which come in the wake of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre, is expected on Thursday.

The two initiatives were backed by the historically Democrat-dominated Senate Public Health Committee.

“The goal is to reduce the amount of incidents that occur where there are a significant amount of people shot in a short period of time,” said state Senator Dan Kotowski, one of the ban's sponsors, the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper reported.

Gun advocates fought both measures, arguing that they would unnecessarily restrict responsible gun owners and threaten thousands of jobs at the state’s 60 gun manufacturers, Illinois-based daily the Pantagraph reported.

"A ban is a knee-jerk reaction," Jay Keller, executive director of the Illinois Firearms Manufacturers' Association told members of the panel. "Please, take a step back."

The Senate may vote on the measures as soon as Thursday, with the legislation expected to pass by a narrow margin.

Illinois lawmakers sought to impose restrictions on ammunition clips that hold more than 10 rounds in 2007 following the Virginia Tech massacre, during which a 23-year-old gunman killed 32 people in two separate attacks at the college. The state Senate approved the legislation, but the bill did not advance in the House.

Gun control measures are being proposed in the US at both the state and federal level following the shooting in Connecticut, during which 27 people died, including 20 children.

President Barack Obama voiced his support for restrictions on more-lethal firearms and appointed Vice President Joe Biden to tackle the issue.

Comments (32)

Anonymous user 27.02.2013 15:43

Your all going to lose your guns and there's nothing you can do about it.

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mjl (unregistered) 15.01.2013 17:45

I'm not sure the writer or Illinois lawmakers know the difference between a clip and a magazine.
Liberal s, what can I say?

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sod 11.01.2013 21:01

Joe (unregistered) wrote in #1 I know the clip for the SKS holds 10 rounds but I am unaware of any clips that hold more than that. The only other clip I know of that holds more than 5 rounds is the one for the m1 garand which holds 8. It's strange that they would ban something that either doesn't exist or is extremely rare. You would think if they wanted to infringe people's gun rights, they'd go after something more popular like removable magazines. High capacity ones can hold 100 or more rounds. Standard capacity ones often hold 30 rounds. Just ban military styled weapons, even the ones where they put a hunting stock on the saigas etc to get past the law. Easy but not in the US. No mention of handgun ban either - what a joke.

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