The rollcall on this bill was pretty surprising…
With suggestions that it could help limit tragedies like April’s Virginia Tech massacre, the Senate on Wednesday approved a ban on high-capacity gun magazines.
Ammunition clips holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition would be illegal under legislation that passed 31-26 and was sent to the House.
Sen. Dan Kotowski, a Park Ridge Democrat, sold the bill as one that doesn’t limit the manufacture or sale of guns in a state reluctant to toughen controls on weapons despite solid Democratic control of the Legislature. […]
But critics said the legislation does nothing to stop violence and would drive gun manufacturers out of the state.
The Illinois State Rifle Association has kicked up a lot of dust over this bill, claiming at one point that Kotowski was “dancing in the blood of the Virginia Tech victims.”
But the bill had bipartisan support and could not have passed without several Republican votes. You can download the rollcall here, but Republican Senators Althoff, Cronin, Dillard, Hultgren, Millner and Murphy all voted for it.
Murphy? Matt Murphy, who was backed by conservative money bags Jack Roeser in last year’s primary? I asked Murphy about his vote last night and he said that besides the fact that he supports stuff like this, the bill is popular in his district.
Anyway, here is a mailer that ISRA sent out a few weeks back attacking Kotowski. Click the pics to see larger images. It’s quite something…
Discuss.