The Illinois House passed a gun bill that would allow for citizens to carry firearms despite vocal opposition from Governor Pat Quinn and the mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel. Illinois is the last state without a law allowing licensed citizens to carry concealed firearms, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Senate President John Cullerton has derided the bill because it overrides local gun laws, including the assault weapons ban in the city of Chicago, according to the Chicago Tribune. Lawmakers across the state, particularly in Chicago, are afraid that easing any of the gun laws will only lead to more violence.
While homicide rates have been falling in most major cities across the country that is not the case in Chicago, last year saw over 500 homicides in the city, according to CNN.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Quinn told the Chicago Tribune why the governor opposes the bill.
"This legislation as written is a massive overreach that goes far beyond the conceal carry issue," Brooke Anderson said. "The measure would repeal Chicago's assault weapons ban and put public safety at risk. We oppose this."
House Speaker Michael Madigan had fought against allowing concealed carry permits for 20 years but changed his mind to support this bill in order to avoid confusion for people who carried firearms. The state has until June 9 to pass a universal gun law for the state, or else 220 communities in Illinois would be able to make their own laws, according to the Huffington Post.
"The effect of not taking any action would be to open up the possibility that there could be up to 220 different sets of rules on the question of carrying weapons, so as people attempted to move about the state, they would contemplate the possibility that there would be a change in the rules up to 220 times," Madigan told the Huffington Post.
Rep. Brandon Phelps, who sponsored the bill, spoke to the Chicago Tribune about how the bill couldn't please everyone and how he was amazed that a concealed carry bill passed in the state.
"Even among us gun-rights legislators and even among the gun-control legislators, our ideal of the perfect concealed-carry legislation is not identical," Phelps said. "There is not a bill that we could possibly draw up in which every single legislator on this floor would be perfectly happy with. We live in Illinois. We never thought this day would come."
The bill is expected to face a very difficult fight in the Senate led by Governor Quinn, who announced his disapproval of the bill in a statement.
"We need strong gun safety laws that protect the people of our state," the statement read. "Instead, this measure puts public safety at risk. I will not support this bill and I will work with members of the Illinois Senate to stop it in its tracks."
