Pritzker says 'progress is progress' on U.S. Senate's gun control agreement

[June 14, 2022]  By Andrew Hensel | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators announced on Sunday they’d reached an agreement on new federal gun control legislation. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday the measures don't go far enough but it's a start.

The announced framework comes from 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats. The group was able to come to an agreement on background checks and red flag laws that allows courts to take guns away from people who may pose a threat.

The agreement also would set up qualifications on who needs to register as a licensed gun dealer, to ensure all commercial sellers are doing background checks.

It would be the first major gun-control agreement in 30 years.

Pritzker discussed the agreement on Monday at a unrelated news conference in Bloomington.

"It has been a long time since Congress acted on gun safety so I am glad to see there was some success," Pritzker said. "It is not enough, we do more here in Illinois than what is being promised in that package, but progress is progress."

The governor had a different take than Republicans looking to take him on in November.

Max Solomon, one of six vying for the GOP nomination, called for relaxing laws on lawful gun owners.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks at a news conference on Friday, Sept. 25, 2020.
Courtesy of BlueRoomStream

"Relax the concealed carry laws to allow law-abiding citizens who want to carry to be able to do so in the state of Illinois," Solomon said during a recent debate on ABC7. "Relax the gun laws, the first line of defense when you are facing an attack is yourself. Every individual law-abiding citizen should be able to protect themselves."

The National Rifle Association released this statement after the agreement was made.

"The NRA will continue to oppose any effort to insert gun control policies, initiatives that override constitutional due process protections, and efforts to deprive law-abiding citizens of their fundamental right to protect themselves and their loved ones into this or any other legislation," the group said Sunday.

The NRA said it will take a further stance once more information is made available.

"As is our policy, the NRA does not take positions on 'frameworks.' We will make our position known when the full text of the bill is available for review," the group said.

Andrew Hensel has years of experience as a reporter and pre-game host for the Joliet Slammers, and as a producer for the Windy City Bulls. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan University and Illinois Media School, Andrew lives in the south suburbs of Chicago.