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Illinois Lawmakers Introduce Various Post-Vegas Gun Proposals

RAY MOORE / FLICKR.COM/RARSTUDIOS (CC-BY-NC)
Proposed Illinois legislation would prohibit the sale of assault weapons, which the legislation defines as any rifle that has "a detachable magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition."

State and federal legislators from Illinois are proposing new laws in response to Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Both U.S. Senators — Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth — joined fellow Democrats in sponsoring legislation to ban the sale of a device known as a “bump stock.” That’s a legal modification that makes a regular rifle fire like a machine gun.

Although Republicans stopped short of endorsing a new law, U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger, Rodney Davis and Mike Bost called on the ATF to review an earlier decision that said the government could not regulate bump stocks.

Meanwhile, at the state level, Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, filed a much broader gun-control package (House Bill 4107).

The measure bans not just bump stocks but also high-capacity magazines, .50-caliber rifles, and the sale of so-called assault weapons. Currently owned semi-automatic rifles could be kept by their owners, but many would have to be registered with the Illinois State Police.

These ideas have been introduced before, but failed to get enough support to pass.

An Illinois-based representative of the National Rifle Association declined to comment. Moylan and Davis did not respond to requests for comment.

Brian Mackey formerly reported on state government and politics for NPR Illinois and a dozen other public radio stations across the state. Before that, he was A&E editor at The State Journal-Register and Statehouse bureau chief for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.