AndrewBlakeSpringfield, IL – The Democrat-controlled Illinois House of Representatives passed several gun control measures, including one that would raise the age for buying “assault-style” rifles to 21.
The legislation was sponsored by Democratic Illinois Representative Michelle Mussman, and passed by a 64-51 vote, according to KTVI-TV.
Under the bill, anyone under 21 years old who currently possessed the types of weapons prohibited in the legislation would have 90 days to transfer ownership or surrender their guns without compensation.
Mussman said that police would not visit homes to confiscate weapons, and that a first possession offense would be a misdemeanor.
The state lawmakers also voted to ban “bump stocks” and “trigger cranks,” which increase a rifle’s firing rate, according to the Chicago Tribune.
That bill failed last fall in the state house, but more than a dozen Republicans switched over to support it on March 7, causing it to pass on its second try.
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Representatives also approved a 72-hour “cooling off” period after purchasing a weapon designated as “assault-style.”
Additionally, the Illinois lawmakers signed off on a measure for state licensing of gun dealers, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Governor Bruce Rauner then vetoed the gun dealer licensing bill.
It would have required the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to collect $1,000 from each dealer for a five-year license, and required training of employees and videotaping in “critical areas” of the business, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The goal was for state oversight to identify and eliminate the practice of straw purchasers buying guns legally, and then selling them to criminals, Illinois Representative Kathleen Willis, who sponsored the bill, told the Chicago Tribune.
Gov. Rauner called the proposal “duplicative” saying that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives already handles licensing of gun dealers, including extensive and expensive background checks.
“The core issue is not which guns to legally ban or regulate,” Gov. Raunder said. “We have ample proof that such narrowly focused legislative responses make for good political cover. But they do little to stop the illegal flow of guns into Illinois or prevent people from committing thousands of crimes in our state each year with illegal guns.”
The Illinois State Rifle Association and a trade association of firearms dealers called the bill “overly broad” and “poorly written,” and said it and could violate the U.S. Constitution, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Sen. Don Harmon said that he will push to override the veto.
The state house discussed a proposal to ban high-capacity magazines and civilian use of body armor, as well as the creation of a tip line to alert authorities to a neighbor or family member who could pose a threat, but none of those measures were brought to a vote.