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In
the wake of recent mass shootings, incumbent U.S. Sen. Tammy
Duckworth, D-Schaumburg, wants to ban certain semi-automatic
weapons.
“There’s no need for AR-15’s or other assault weapons and high
capacity magazines to be available to the civilian population,”
Duckworth said last week at a news conference in Washington D.C.
Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Kathy Salvi said instead of
looking at banning certain guns, state red flag laws and mental
health should be the focus.
“Before we pass or look at any new laws, let’s implement the
laws that we have on the books first,” Salvi told WMAY.
Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Bill Redpath said there has to
be a deep evaluation of such an idea without running afoul with
U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
“It’s not my opinion that matters so much as it is the U.S.
Supreme Court and that they decided in the Heller case that it
involved a right to keep and bear arms and it was decided in the
McDonald case and it was decided in the New York case recently,”
Redpath told The Center Square.
The U.S. Supreme Court last month struck down a New York gun law
that required residents to prove they had “proper cause” to
receive a permit to carry a firearm outside the home.
With increased focus on guns following several mass shootings,
including the July 4 shooting in Highland Park, Illinois,
there’s also ongoing gun violence in Chicago. Redpath said one
step to holistically address gun violence is to end the war on
drugs.
“After the end of alcohol prohibition, the per capita murder
rate in this nation went down for I believe it was seven
consecutive years,” Redpath said. “There is nothing that can be
done to stem gun violence in this nation that would be more
effective than ending the war on drugs.”
The election is Nov. 8.
Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and
other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of
award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning
Newsfeed out of Springfield.
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