Dont give up the fight yet!!
Murphy backs off gun bill
Commissioner says she did not fully understand ordinance when she signed
Friday, August 26, 2005
By Jonathan Lipman
Staff writer
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Cook County Commissioner Joan Murphy is backing away from a gun-control bill she had pledged to support after getting phone calls from residents opposing it.
The bill, authored by Commissioner Larry Suffredin (D-Evanston), seeks to update the county's 15-year-old assault weapons ban.
Suffredin said the bill is similar to the federal assault weapons ban that expired last year, and it would set a minimum standard for all villages and cities countywide.
Murphy was a co-sponsor when the bill was introduced July 12, along with South Side Commissioner John Daley (D-Chicago). But she said this week she's pulling her support and may vote against it.
"It's because of the number of calls I've received from people I respect, many of them people who have had guns since World War II," Murphy (D-Crestwood) said.
Suffredin said he's not sure how important Murphy's vote will be to get the legislation passed. Daley said Thursday he still backs the bill, and Commissioner Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) said he will ask to join as a co-sponsor.
The county's existing assault weapons ban has been in place since 1993.
"All I ever intended to do was consult with the police departments to update the ordinance, not expand anything, and to try to deal with the public safety," Suffredin said.
The Illinois State Rifle Association distributed a letter Aug. 17 urging members to call commissioners and oppose the bill.
"It is very likely that various police departments will conduct midnight raids on gun owners' homes, as a publicity stunt," the letter says.
Under the proposal, "most of the semi-automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns you own would be banned and subject to confiscation," the letter says
Suffredin disputed the claims, saying all of the guns covered in his bill were illegal under the expired federal ban, and nearly all of them still are illegal under the county's existing ban. Hunting weapons and antique weapons would not be affected, he said.
Murphy said she did not fully understand the ordinance when she agreed to become a co-sponsor.
"After I dissect this a little further, I'll see what changes have been made to the old law," Murphy said. "I will probably speak out against it ... but I may vote 'present.' "
She doesn't agree with the rifle association's claims but also says Suffredin's proposal and the existing county assault weapon ban may be unconstitutional, and have been ineffective.
"Rather than add another law, why don't we just enforce the laws we have?" Murphy said. "The law that was passed was to get assault weapons off the street, but that hasn't really happened has it?"
Murphy said she does not believe most of the people calling her are rifle association members.
Suffredin said his office was "inundated with calls" days after the rifle association letter went out.
The 1993 county law banned assault weapons by specific name, listing 61 different weapon "types," such as an AK-47 assault rifle or Uzi carbine, that cannot be bought, sold, or owned anywhere in Cook County.
The law covers all of unincorporated Cook County and any village in the county without its own weapons ban. Any village that does have a law must adopt rules at least as strict as the county's.
Suffredin's bill would update the names of those 61 weapons and also add a list of general characteristics that define whether a gun not on that list is also an "assault weapon." Those characteristics include any semi-automatic rifle that holds more than 10 rounds, features a pistol grip or has a folding stock.
"I'm not trying to affect any gun owner's ownership," Suffredin said. "Under the existing ordinance they shouldn't have these guns in the first place."
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Cook County Board Members Contact List
AWB to be voted on Sept. 8th
Earlean Collins 312-603-4566
Bobbie Steele (D) 312-603-3019
Jerry Butler (D) 312-603-6391
John Stroger (D) 312-603-6400
Deborah Sims (D) 312-603-6381
Joan Murphy (D) 312-603-4216
[email protected]
Joseph Moreno (D) 312-603-5443
Roberto Maldonado (D) 312-603-6386
[email protected]
Mike Quigley (D) 312-603-4210
[email protected]
John P. Daley (D) 312-603-4400
Forrest Claypool (D) 312-603-6380
[email protected]
Larry Suffredin (D) 312-603-6383
[email protected]
Gregg Goslin ® 312-603-4932
[email protected]
Carl Hansen ® 312-603-6388
Anthony Peraica ® 312-603-6384
[email protected]
Elizabeth Gorman ® 312-603-4215
[email protected]
