Bourne: Overreaching Gun Legislation Not the Answer to Curb Violence

Mar 2, 2018 2:44 PM

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Litchfield - The Illinois House voted on several bills related to gun control this week only hours after committee hearings. State Representative Avery Bourne (R-Raymond) voiced her opposition to the series of bills that passed, one of which, Senate Bill 1657 now goes to the Governor desk where he will either veto or sign it into law.

Rep. Bourne stated, “This week, we saw a series of politically motivated anti-gun legislation. Regulating a fundamental, constitutional right is not something we should take lightly and certainly should not be done in haste. Among these bills were ideas that I could support in concept, such as a bump stock ban or a hotline for gun violence threats at the Illinois State Police. However, these bills were not negotiated in good faith and we were not allowed to offer up amendments for consideration. One specific bill places burdensome and duplicative regulation on small businesses who sell firearms, while exempting big box stores like Walmart. I voted against the legislation and will continue to support our 2nd Amendment rights. Given the recent tragedies, I understand that there is more that we must do to keep our children safe. However, we must look holistically at the problem and have a robust debate about what truly will keep kids safe.” Bourne added, “I believe that bipartisan solutions can be found to this complex problem, but it will not be solved with knee-jerk reactions that exchange our liberties for cheap political points.”

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