Gun control hasn’t exactly been a front-and-center political issue lately in Washington or in Illinois, even in the wake of the massacre at Virginia Tech. So maybe the best that can be expected from the Illinois legislature this year on that issue is a modest law to restrict the most lethal weaponry.
That might just happen. Legislation to prohibit the sale and possession of magazines that deliver more than 10 rounds of ammunition has passed the Illinois Senate and will likely come to a vote in the House next week. Most encouraging, it is getting support from Republicans and Democrats.
It was sponsored by Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge), a former gun-control lobbyist, and co-sponsored by Sen. John Millner (R-Carol Stream), a former Elmhurst police chief who has generally been skeptical toward gun-control measures. The bill also has bipartisan sponsorship in the House.
“Over the past 35 years the gun industry has been very adept at making guns that are increasingly lethal,” Kotowski said. “This bill acknowledges the grim reality that there’s only so much we could do [to prevent access to guns]. What it does is minimize the risk and minimize the lethality of guns.”
In the absence of state support for more sweeping legislation curtailing high-powered weapons, this may be the most the legislature can do.
It won’t ban any weapons. It will only prohibit the sale of the largest ammunition magazines. Four states have such a ban: California, Massachusetts, New York and Hawaii.
It may, in a small way, limit the collateral damage on the streets of Illinois.
