Gun owners oppose proposal to ban assault weapons

A suburban lawmaker's proposal that would allow towns to outlaw assault weapons is facing backlash from gun supporters statewide.

The proposal, introduced by state Sen. Julie Morrison, a Deerfield Democrat, comes in response to a recent court ruling allowing the city of Highland Park to ban assault weapons, even though state law does not allow towns to do so.

The 2-1 court decision from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago last month found Highland Park's ban on assault weapons to be constitutional. It could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The one judge who disagreed with the Highland Park ban said it should be up to an individual, not government, to decide on the best methods for safety.

Since introducing the legislation Tuesday, Morrison says she's gotten calls from people outside her district and out of state speaking in opposition to allowing assault rifle bans.

The gun advocacy website IllinoisCarry.com sent an email this week to many followers urging them to push back.

New restrictive ordinances would make "it nearly impossible for law abiding citizens to understand the legal status of their firearms when moving from place to place," the email read.

Lawmakers in 2013 approved a law allowing Illinoisans to carry concealed handguns in public. It also prohibited local communities from adopting their own handgun bans except for in the 10 days after the law took effect.

"There are a lot of communities that may not be interested in this. There might be some that are," Morrison said. "I think that there are some in my district in particular that had an interest before the concealed carry law went into effect, and it was in that relatively small window of time that the city of Highland Park enacted their ordinance."

With less than one month left to go in the General Assembly's regular session, Morrison says it's unclear what will happen with her proposal.

"It's late in the legislative season," Morrison said. "But that being said, it's now on our radar and should there be any kind of bill negotiating on deals with gun legislation, this will be part of it."