After Las Vegas, Illinois Gun Proposals Range From Modest to Major

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Brian Mackey

Published October 5, 2017 at 6:12 PM CDT

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.

Brian Mackey reports on legislation proposed by Illinois lawmakers in response to the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Both of Illinois’ 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, Congressmen 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, in Illinois, state Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, filed a much broader gun-control package (House Bill 4107).

It’s basically a gun-control advocate’s wish-list: banning 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.