Proposed Assault Weapons Ban Gets High Powered Backing

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Deerfield) and state Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) wasted little time voicing support for Mayor Harriet Rosenthal’s push for an assault weapons ban within the short deadline allowed by Illinois’s conceal carry law passed Friday by the General Assembly.

Home rule municipalities like Deerfield must act within 10 days of the time Gov. Patrick Quinn signs the bill into law or they will be prohibited from passing legislation banning assault weapons.

Rosenthal told the Village Board of Trustees about the deadline at the end of Monday’s meeting and of her desire to have the issue placed on the agenda before the 10-day limit took away Deerfield’s ability to legislate.

“I applaud Deerfield's decision to address gun violence and limit access to these military-style weapons,” Schneider said. “These weapons are weapons of war and have no place on our streets or near our children."

For Morrison, who voted against the legislation in Springfield in part because of the short deadline, action like this in her hometown is important. “This I where I live, it’s where my family is,” she said. “It’s very personal. It does make a difference.”

During negotiations between lawmakers and other interested parties leading up to the Friday’s passage of the bill, Morrison and other suburban legislators wanted municipalities to have six months to act after the measure became law.

“The NRA (National Rifle Association) said ‘no way, now how,’” Morrison said. “I know how municipalities work. They need more time.”

Schneider would like to see greater curbs. “We need sensible measures to curb gun violence, including universal background checks, making gun trafficking a federal crime and limiting access to high-capacity magazines and military-style assault weapons,” he said.

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