SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A proposal to ban assault weapons in Illinois is likely to come up during the next regular legislative session in January.
The bill is dubbed the “Protect Illinois Communities Act.”
“First, it would ban the sale of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, as well as rapid-fire devices that are increasingly being used in mass shootings in Chicago and other urban areas,” said Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield), the bill’s sponsor. “We also would increase the eligibility age to get a FOID card from 18 to 21.”
The measure also expands the role of the Illinois State Police to help stop the trafficking of illegal guns from other states.
“Communities around the state are experiencing more and more daily experiences of gun violence that are creating these deep, deep family and community traumas, and we have to do more to stop it,” said Morgan. “There really is critical support among the Legislature, and I am hopeful and optimistic that we will have the support to pass this law.”
Current owners of assault weapons would be able to keep them under the bill, but would have to get them registered.
Morgan was at the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park that killed seven people and injured nearly 50 more.
He hopes to get this passed during the “lame duck” legislative session early next month.
