(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Some state lawmakers would like to impose a tax on ammunition in order to pay for trauma and mental health services that could be used by school districts after an on-campus shooting.
Co-sponsoring the measure is freshman state Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia.
Survivors of gun violence live with the mental-health trauma for years, she said Friday.
"What this trauma response fund could do is get to the heart of the rippling effects of gun violence," she said.
Hirschauer is a former teacher and a member of the anti-gun violence group Moms Demand Action. She said her heart goes out to the victims of violence in Illinois, along with the victims of the mass shootings in Colorado and Georgia.
"My heart breaks a little bit every time, and it doesn't just break for those big news stories in Georgia and Colorado, but also in the violence we see here in our state," she said.
The Illinois State Rifle Association is opposed to the measure, saying it singles out gun owners to pay for resources that are already the state's responsibility.
Cook County imposed a fee on gun purchases and a surcharge on ammunition sales in 2013. A legal challenge to that measure is heading to the Illinois Supreme Court.
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