State lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are proposing new gun dealer legislation despite Governor Rauner’s veto of a similar bill several weeks ago.
This new, re-written piece of legislation would require federally-licensed gun dealers to attain certification from the state of Illinois, place restrictions on the private sale of firearms, and create a study around gun trafficking in Illinois.
State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer of Jacksonville shares his thoughts on the latest gun dealer legislation, as well as his thoughts on Governor Rauner’s subsequent response.
“I actually serve on the governor’s Public Safety Working Group, so I have to say I was definitely blindsided when he announced this amendatory veto, because this is public safety initiative. But I will say that when you make major changes like he’s made in this bill, I would have to say – and I’m not an attorney – but from what I’ve heard from every which way, major changes like this are not constitutional,” says Davidsmeyer.
Davidsmeyer discusses some of the major differences between the first gun dealer legislation that was eventually vetoed by Rauner, and the latest gun dealer bill.
“I would say the most major change was bringing back the death penalty specifically for people who kill police officers, which I would support if it’s, not even beyond a reasonable doubt, but zero doubt, if it was (captured) on camera or something of that sort,” Davidsmeyer explains.
The Jacksonville-based Representative says he believes much of the back-and-forth taking place over this legislation has to do with the fact that – as he’s stated several times in the past – it’s an election year. He also shares his thoughts on whether or not he believes the bill will pass.
“The sponsor of the bill filed a motion to approve the amendatory veto which, in my history in the House, I have never seen Speaker Madigan approve an amendatory veto. So to me, I think they’re just playing games with it, that it may be a bit of a political stunt by both sides to be honest. I would say that I don’t believe that it will pass,” Davidsmeyer explains.
Democratic State Representative Kathleen Willis, of Northlake, is a sponsor of the bill. Willis says that the most recent version worked to reduce much of the red tape found in the original bill.