SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) At an Illinois House committee hearing Thursday, researchers and community activists said having fewer firearms in communities will help stop bloodshed from the persistent gun violence haunting Chicago to mass shootings like the one at a suburban July Fourth parade but this must be followed by programs to change attitudes and give people alternatives.
Democrats who control the General Assembly are positioning a wide-ranging gun law for a vote as early as next month, during a lame-duck session. That follows Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s call last summer for a semi-automatic weapons ban.
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The House Judiciary-Criminal Law Committee is conducting hearings on the proposed legislation, which would ban semi-automatic weapons, restrict gun possession by those younger than 21 and toughen "red flag" laws.