Big crowd in Marion discusses new Illinois gun bans

Hundreds of gun owners joined southern Illinois state legislators for a town hall meeting in Marion on Tuesday.

The primary topic was the recently signed gun control law that bans the sale and possession of popular semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15, and requires firearm owners of now-restricted weapons to register with state police. 

The law, pushed through the Democrat-controlled legislature with backing from  Chicago-area gun control activists, was immediately met with an outcry downstate, including from 90 county sheriffs who said they would not enforce the law. Lawsuits to challenge the constitutionality of the law have been promised by the Illinois State Rifle Association and others.

Those developments were explored in a discussion at the Marion Civic Center led by southern Illinois State Senator Dale Fowler and State Representative Patrick Windhorst, along with fellow Republican legislators Terri Bryant, Dave Severin, David Friess and Paul Jacobs.

The legislators vowed their support of the Second Amendment, and support of the pending legal challenges.

The lawmakers also talked about new voting district boundaries in southern Illinois, and what will be addressed during the upcoming spring legislative session.



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