Illinois House Approved the prohibition of certain high-powered semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines that were used in mass shootings across the country.
Illinois lawmakers approved the measure early Friday morning on a 64-43 votessending it to the Senate for further consideration.
Gun owners who already own such weapons would be allowed to keep them if they register with the state. Illinois would also ban other firearm accessories, such as high-capacity magazines — classified as those holding more than 10 rounds — under the measure.
Additionally, persons under the age of 21 would no longer be permitted to obtain an Illinois gun owner identification card with the sponsorship of a parent or guardian, among others. Currently, a person must be 21 to obtain a FOID card or have the written consent of a parent or legal guardian.
The proposal follows a recent spate of mass shootings, including one in Highland Park during a July 4 parade and two in the same week at a Virginia Walmart and a Colorado gay nightclub in November. In May, 21 people, mostly children, were killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
After the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, in which five people were killed, President Joe Biden called the country enact “an assault weapons ban to get weapons of war off American streets.”
“The idea that we still allow the purchase of semi-automatic weapons is sick. Just sick,” Biden said on Thanksgiving Day. “I will try to get rid of the assault weapons.”
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