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December 4, 2012

Illinois Senate Puts the Hammer Down On Gov. Quinn’s Gun Grab Attempt


The Illinois State Senate on Nov. 28, in a decisive 46 –to- 4 vote, overrode a brazen attempt by Gov. Pat Quinn to use his “amendatory veto power” to completely rewrite a senator’s bill originally intended to allow in-state purchases of ammunition by mail into a far-reaching piece of legislation effectively banning most semi-automatic rifles and shotguns (under the guide of being so-called “assault weapons”), imposing an outrageous tax on higher capacity magazines and outlawing all .50-caliber firearms and cartridges.

The vote now moves to the House, where, if it follows the Senate lead, the original modest legislation allowing residents to buy ammo from in-state companies by mail order will become law.

“Today is a good day for the Second Amendment in Illinois. We have scored a victory against short-sighted Chicago anti-gun policies,” said State Sen. Dave Luechtefeld, the sponsor of the original bill. “The Governor overstepped his reach when he decided to rewrite this Senate bill and impose an assault weapons ban without the measure first being heard by the legislature,”

An aide to Quinn told the Peoria Star Journal that the governor will “vigorously pursue” his radical anti-gun agenda despite this set- back. We’re not surprised. No one is.

We’re happy that we can score one for those state senators who fought for their constituents’ Second Amendment rights, but we’re also under no illusions about what else the Governor and his anti-gun allies in Chicago led by Mayor Rahm Immanuel may have in store. The Senate vote was as much or more about the audacity of a highly unpopular governor attempting to run rough roughshod over the legislative branch as it was over the substance of his overreach.

We applaud the work of the Illinois citizens who helped make sure the veto override was so decisive. They’re also under no illusions. After all, they live in Illinois and are used to battling anti-Second Amendment zealotry originating in Cook Country (home of a newly enacted tax on firearms sales) and the City of Chicago, therein contained, advanced by the politicians they send to Springfield.

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Tags: ammunition Firearm Gov. Pat Quinn Gun Illinois second ammendment

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