Here’s what southwestern Illinois lawmakers have to say about new weapons ban
Metro-east lawmakers have commented on their positions on the new state law that bans the manufacture, purchase and sale of certain semiautomatic weapons, as well as large-capacity magazines and .50-caliber rifles.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill into law Tuesday night.
Here are comments from four area lawmakers who responded to a request Wednesday from the Belleville News-Democrat to comment on House Bill 5471, which was titled the “Protect Illinois Communities Act”:
Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, 109th District
Meier voted against the bill because he considers it to be in unconstitutional.
“They keep attacking our Second Amendment rights,” he said. “It’s going to be ruled unconstitutional in the courts. We have a right to own guns.”
Meier said the state needs instead to address the issue of treating people with mental illnesses to curb the rash of mass shootings.
“Why aren’t we doing something about that?”
He said this law would not reduce gang-related shootings in Chicago because prosecutors there are not enforcing laws.
“Nothing’s going to be fixed,” he said. “They’re not doing anything about that problem. Those are illegal guns.
“Why do we let kids be able to go on the internet and pull up games where all they can do is sit there all afternoon seeing how many people they can kill on a video game. Games like that, as far as I’m concerned, should be outlawed.”
Meier said supporters of the bill have said, “‘We’ll never go any further.’ Well that’s a lie.”
“Once they know who has what guns registered, they’ll go after them.”
State Rep. Kevin Schmidt, R-Millstadt, 114th District
Schmidt, who defeated Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, in the November election, was sworn into office on Wednesday and did not participate in the weapon bill debate.
If he had been in office, he said he would have voted against the bill.
“I think it’s completely unconstitutional and it’s not going to hold up in court. They’re looking at what I would call the symptom and not the cause,” said Schmidt, who is a chiropractor. “I come from the health care industry and we want to look at the cause of the problem instead of just treating the symptom, which is the gun itself.
“We need to look at the cause and we need to look at mental health and the individual and why that individual is pulling that trigger.”
State Rep. Amy Elik, R-Alton, 111th District
“I voted against this unconstitutional firearms ban because it’s in direct contradiction to the Second Amendment as well as recent Supreme Court cases that have affirmed the Second Amendment right of people to keep and bear arms.”
Former State Sen. Kris Tharp, D-Wood River, 56th District
Tharp, whose last day in office was Wednesday, voted against the bill. He lost the November election to Republican Erica Conway Harriss.
“We have robust gun laws in place within our state,” Tharp said. “I think it’s imperative that we enforce those already existing gun laws and that we support our law enforcement and allow them to go out and aggressively pursue charges against those that are predisposed to hurting others.
“I would have liked to have seen a component within the bill that addressed root cause. And when I say root cause, …we could do more to address mental health, those who are in crisis.
“I would like to have seen a component that would have bolstered that particular area. That is a key issue when it relates to the tragic occurrences that we see across the country of mass shootings,” said Tharp, who is a captain with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
The following area lawmakers could not be reached for comment Wednesday:
Sen. Christopher Belt, D-Swansea; Rep. David Friess, R-Red Bud; Sen. Erica Conway Harriss, R-Glen Carbon; Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea; Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville; and Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville.
Belt, Hoffman and Stuart voted for the bill.
Friess voted no. Plummer was listed as not voting on Monday on the third reading in the Senate but previously has opposed gun control measures.
Harriss was sworn into office on Wednesday after the bill was debated.
Former state Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, served her last day in office on Wednesday. She voted in favor of the new law.
This story was originally published January 12, 2023 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Here’s what southwestern Illinois lawmakers have to say about new weapons ban."
