By Patrick Baron.
SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, is gaining bipartisan traction in his effort to ban bump-stocks to mimic fully automatic weapons.
The Las Vegas gunman who killed 58 people was said to have used bump-stocks to speed up the discharge rate of his weapons. Along with 78 other House colleagues, Kinzinger has sent a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives urging them to re-evaluate bump-stocks.
In the letter, Kinzinger expressed shock that bump-stocks were reviewed by ATF as compliant with federal law in 2010 and 2012.
“While we cannot prevent tragedy, nor stop evil in all its many forms, actions can be taken,” Kinzinger wrote. “It is my hope that they conclude [bump-stocks] violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the law and take swift action to band such devices.”
Kinzinger represents Livingston County and part of Ford County.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois joined 24 of their Senate colleagues in urging the National Institutes of Health to dedicate a portion of its funding to study firearm violence research. The senators noted the department’s mission is to understand how science saves lives, which includes the health consequences of gun violence.
“With 93 Americans dying per day from gun-related fatalities, it is critical that NIH dedicate a portion of its resources to the public health consequences of gun violence,” the senators wrote.
The department provided $18 million to 22 projects to study gun violence from 2014 to 2017, but the program was not renewed earlier this year.
Patrick Baron can be reached at [email protected].
