By Cole Lauterbach/Illinois Radio Network
CHICAGO – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is continuing pressure on other lawmakers to pass gun-control legislation in the wake of the shooting in Las Vegas that left dozens dead and hundreds injured.
Durbin held a news conference promoting a handful of bills that he says would prevent future tragedies as well as stave off the shootings that have become tragically common in Chicago’s south and west sides.
One bill, Durbin said, would not allow guns to be sold until a background check is entirely complete. He said a complete check would have stopped a shooter from getting guns that he used to kill nine people in Charleston, S.C., two years ago.
“If you can’t get the background check through government computers in 72 hours, the position under the law is to go ahead and sell the gun and hope that person didn’t have something disqualifying,” he said.
Illinois State Rifle Association Director Richard Pearson says removing any time limit on background checks means a gun purchase could take months, or years, before an unaccountable bureaucrat OKs the purchase.
“There are some governments that have unlimited waiting periods and can just screen gun owners out for months,” he said.
Illinois’ laws on background checks are more comprehensive than national laws. Firearm owner’s identification, or FOID, cards require the Illinois State Police to reference a card owner’s name against criminal databases every 24 hours.
“By just having the card, you go through a background check every day,” Pearson said.
In May, Durbin introduced a bill that he says would allow for more effective tools to investigate and deter straw purchasers, who buy guns for those legally unable to do so, and gun traffickers. He said that would help law enforcement in the arrest and prosecution of illegal gun traffic.
