A bill to ban bump stocks in Illinois was voted down Thursday after lawmakers viewed the ban as overreaching and an endangerment to law-abiding gun owners.
State Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) put forth the ban in response to the October 1 Las Vegas attack.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Moylan introduced his legislation by saying, “Today, we are taking the first step towards better protecting our loved ones and preventing this horrific violence from happening in Illinois.”
His legislation banned bump stocks and regulated Tannerite. Moylan justified regulating Tannerite by citing that the Las Vegas gunman had some of the material in his car.
But Moylan’s ban was met with opposition from members of both parties who viewed it as too broad. It was voted down by a vote of 54 to 48. State Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Smithton) said, “I don’t view this as a bump stock ban, I view this as a ban on 40 to 50 percent of the guns in the state.”
A competing bump stock ban was put forward by Republicans; it deals with bump stocks but does not contain the additional language impacting Tannerite and other firearm accessories.
State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) spoke to the overreaching nature of Moylan’s bill, urging clear language with a focused approach. But Moylan made clear he opposes the Republican approach, as he believes it does not go far enough.
The push to ban bump stocks on the federal level floundered after American voters made clear they were more concerned with gun rights than gun control.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.