By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers passed bills Wednesday banning bump stocks, requiring a waiting period to buy some rifles and raising the the age limit to buy them to 21.
Action in Illinois House and Senate came two weeks after a 19-year-old man was charged with shooting and killing 17 people at a Florida high school.
The House passed a handful of proposed laws: One to ban bump stocks and devices that increase firing rates, another requires a 72-hour waiting period before buying semi-automatic assault-style rifles, and a third raises the age to buy semi-automatic rifles to 21.
The mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14 changed the mood in the U.S., said state Rep. Michelle Mussman, D-Schaumburg.
“There’s always the debate about whether or not it’s appropriate to have a discussion in the heat of the moment,” Mussman said on the floor of the Illinois House. “But I think that what we are seeing right now is a demand from the public that we stop kicking this down the road. That we actually do something about this.”
A number of Republicans, including state Rep. Steve Reick, R-Woodstock, said there are limits to what states can do when it comes to the Second Amendment.
“The reason the Constitution is silent as to the age at which someone attains certain rights is because they are born with them. These are rights that you have as a member of the human race, born in the United States. You don’t have to reach a certain age in order to attain certain inalienable rights,” Reick said. “You can’t drive a car until you’re 16, you can’t buy a beer until you’re 21. Those are privileges. Those are not on the same level as a right.”
Lawmakers also approved a plan to create state licenses for gun dealers. The rules were written for smaller, local gun shops. Big-box stores would be exempt, said Rep. Allen Skillicon, R-Crystal Lake. It would require dealers to pay a fee of up to $1,000 for a 5-year license. It also included training and video surveillance requirements.
“This is not a gun bill, this is not a safety bill, this is an anti-small business bill,” Skillicorn said. “And that is the last thing we should be doing in the state of Illinois.
The licensing requirement provoked contentious debate in the House.
State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, said if people who braid hair are required to get a license, so should gun dealers. Ammons, who has a Firearm Owners Identification card, opposed the exemption for big-box stores. Ammons also said that the resistance to the legislation came from those who accepted campaign donations from the National Rifle Association.
“So if I have to get a license to braid hair, to do a perm, to dig up my own backyard, the least we can do is require licensing [for gun dealers],” she said.
State Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, responded by pointing out that gun dealers, unlike those who braid hair, are required to get a license from the federal government.
State Rep. Barbara Wheeler, R-Crystal Lake, shot back at Ammons on her comments about the NRA. Wheeler said licensing gun dealers would “very likely” require the creation of a new division of government sought by legislators who accepted money from unions.
“This is not a Second Amendment bill, this is a big government bill – huge government bill,” Wheeler said. “And if my staff is correct and they have to create an entire division, then I might not say its an NRA bill, I might actually say this is a union bill.”
The Illinois House also approved a proposal that will allow a family member or a police department to ask a judge to take someone’s guns as they go through an involuntary mental health commitment.
State Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, again reached back to the Florida shooting to wonder how many young people there would be alive if involuntary commitment and taking possession of guns was an option.
“It’s time for us to put aside black and white arguments about guns in this country,” Bush said. “It’s about gun safety. It’s about saving lives.”
One plan that was approved yesterday, the gun dealer licensing legislation, is heading to Gov. Rauner’s desk. The others need at least one more vote in Springfield before moving on.
The governor’s office said it plans to review what lawmakers send over.
