(WBBM NEWSRADIO) —U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said last weekend’s killing of Chicago Police Officer Ella French highlights the need to strengthen laws against so-called “straw purchases” of firearms.
The Illinois Democrat said Thursday he’ll renew his push to increase the penalties for someone who knowingly buys a gun for a person who legally cannot have one — especially if that gun is then used in a violent crime.
He said the murder of French and the critical wounding of her partner during a traffic stop in Englewood is a stark example. Federal prosecutors say an Indiana man bought the gun used against the officers and then handed it over to a Chicago felon.
Currently, such handoffs are treated like a paperwork violation, Durbin said. He said offenders should face up to 25 years in prison.
“This is as much a part of the commission of a felony as a person who drives a getaway car,” the senator said. “To treat it as a paperwork violation, with a maximum penalty of 8 months or a year, I think makes it insignificant.”
The Indiana man accused of the straw purchase tied to French’s death is out on bond as he awaits trial in federal court. Chicago Police Supt. David Brown has called it “an outrage" that Jamel Danzy is free.
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