This week, Illinois passed a bill banning the manufacturing and sale of semiautomatic weapons. The bill — which was written largely in response to the mass shooting in Highland Park, IL on the Fourth of July — has drawn an abundance of criticism.
The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Representative Bob Morgan from the Chicago suburbs, tells KMOX the concern about the bill from opponents is overblown. He specifically pointed to Republican Darren Bailey, who told KMOX on Wednesday that he thinks the eventual goal of the bill is to take guns from gun owners.
“I think Senator Bailey says a lot of things that are meant to really generate fear and for people to be scared — that really is his playbook,” Morgan said. “Unfortunately, that's not what the legislation does. So it's just not factually accurate. This legislation reflects, really, something that nine other states — eight other states plus Washington DC — have already done.”
But at its core, Morgan explained, the bill is about reducing gun violence. He said gun violence is “plaguing” the state of Illinois, and not just in Chicago and other more urban areas.
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As for the argument that the bill hurts business owners, Morgan said that he’s read stories saying gun stores have never had higher sales than over the past few weeks.
“And we didn't do anything with regards to sales handguns in this legislation,” he said. “So I am sympathetic to any business that is trying to sell a legal product. And I'm confident that these these retailers are going to be able to adjust it. So just handguns and hunting rifles and other things that will continue to be allowed under this legislation.”
Some county sheriffs in Illinois have said they plan not to comply with the new law. Morgan said he’s “disappointed to see virtue signaling like that.”
“These are people that are elected by their communities, to keep their community safe and to follow the law,” he said. “And for a sheriff to say, ‘Well, I'm not going to follow the law, because I think it's a bad idea,’ — what a horrible precedent and what a message that's sending to their community, that ‘I'm not going to work to keep you safe, because I don't like something.’”
Hear more from State Representative Bob Morgan on the ban of semiautomatic rifles in Illinois:
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