Advocates on both sides of gun debate take to Illinois Capitol

[April 19, 2024]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Advocates on both sides of the debate around gun control are using this week to champion their issues at the Illinois Statehouse.

On Tuesday, hundreds of gun control advocates from Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and others, including some from Minnesota, discussed their priorities during a rally at the Illinois Statehouse.

One Aim Illinois Deputy Director Yolanda Androzzo pushed for gun control measures.

“Illinois state legislators have the opportunity, it’s an opportunity to ensure protection through protection and justice for survivors of gun violence,” she said.

State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, addressed the crowd. She said she wants to respect those lost to violent crime and blamed Illinois’ “messed up gun laws.”

“[Illinois has] messed up gun laws that we haven’t been able to change because those people on the other side think that their right to carry arms is more important that our right to live,” she said.

She’s advocating for a measure requiring police to confiscate firearms from subjects of a restraining order. Right now, the subject can turn over firearms to anyone with a Firearm Owners ID card.

Illinois has among the most strict gun laws in the country, including the FOID card requirement for gun owners to get from Illinois State Police in order to buy or possess firearms and ammunition, and a ban on more than 170 semi-automatic firearms and magazines. Both laws are being challenged in federal court where plaintiffs allege constitutional violations.

Left: Gun rights groups rally at the Illinois Statehouse in 2023. Right: Gun control advocates rally at the statehouse Tuesday. - Greg Bishop / The Center Square, BlueRoomStream

Illinois State Rifle Association board member Mandi Ehler said gun control advocates seem to have forgotten what the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is all about.

“Every person that’s in government actually took an oath to uphold our constitution and all of them need to go back and reread it because they are completely misguided as to what can be restricted and what can’t,” Ehler told The Center Square.

On Thursday, the Illinois State Rifle Association and other gun rights groups will be in Springfield. Ehler said they expect thousands to arrive and lobby their legislators.

“The biggest thing that we can do is show up and honestly show our legislators and show our senators that we actually do show up which means we’re also going to show up at the polls. We vote,” Ehler said. “And so if they’re not doing what’s in our best interest, we’re going to vote them out, and I’m really hoping that they understand that … they work for us.”

Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day begins at a convention center in Springfield at 10 Thursday, followed by a march through downtown toward the state capitol.