Illinois Pushing Through Trigger Modification Bill

Ever since Las Vegas, lawmakers have been licking their chops. The gun control ghouls not just in Congress but also in state legislatures have jumped on the use of a bump stock in the tragedy to push through new regulations limiting people’s Second Amendment rights.

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In anti-gun Illinois, they’re closer to restricting trigger modifications with a bill that sounds similar to Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s bill.

On a partisan vote, the House Judiciary-Criminal Law committee approved legislation to ban bump stocks in Illinois. The devices are used to greatly increase the rate of fire for semi-automatic weapons. They were used by Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock earlier this month when he fired on hundreds of people gathered outdoors for a concert in the city.

Sponsored by Rep. Martin Moylan, D-Des Plaines, House Bill 4117 would also make illegal other modifications to guns that would greatly increase their rate of fire.

“This device (bump stocks) can turn legal firearms into illegal machine guns capable of shooting up to 800 rounds per minute,” Moylan said.

Todd Vandermyde, who represents the National Rifle Association, said Moylan’s bill is too broadly written and will effectively outlaw a number of trigger modifications that many gun owners legally have performed on their guns. Those modifications can increase the rate of fire, he said, but do not come close to turning the weapons into machine guns.

“This bill would essentially outlaw, in our estimation, 50 percent of the firearms (in Illinois),” he said. “It would make a criminal out of the vast majority of the 2.3 million FOID card holders for mere possession. This may be a response to what took place in Las Vegas, but the net result is criminalizing a lot of (gun owners).”

The Illinois State Rifle Association also opposes this bill, though they do support a bill that only outlaws bump stocks.

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This is the anti-gun playbook in a snapshot. They know they can’t push these kinds of bills nationally. Even now, sentiment against bump stocks isn’t what it was shortly after the news dropped they were used in Las Vegas. In a few more weeks, Feinstein’s bill will be as dead as Justin Beiber’s chances of being considered a serious artist.

Knowing that, they also put forth a full court press in any state they think they can get away with it in, such as Illinois. The only reason California isn’t right there with them is that their attorney general seems to think he can create law by decree, thus negating the need.

It’s why gun rights advocates need to support gun rights groups in states other than their own, to help give those groups the resources to combat the unbridled push by anti-gun forces backed by a friendly media pushing their narrative. Anti-gun organizations trust gun owners in other states to be like most people and focus on what impacts them.

The thing is, ever new gun regulation at any level is another rule that impacts our sacred right to keep and bear arms. They must be stopped if there’s any way possible.

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