Governor Pat Quinn is renewing his call for an assault weapons ban for Illinois. But in order to get it passed, he'll need the support of a Republican lawmaker who opposes the idea.
Quinn first raised the issue in the days following the Colorado shooting rampage. He spotted an opening in legislation that would have allowed people to purchase ammunition by mail from companies within Illinois. On Tuesday, Quinn used his amendatory veto powers to rewrite the proposal so it would ban many types of semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
Standing in the way of Quinn's proposal is Republican Senator Leuchtefeld from Okawville. Because he sponsored the original measure, he gets to decide whether to call Quinn's version for a vote.
"As a lot of things that happen in Springfield, it is strictly political. The governor wants to be out there saying, 'I'm going to do something about this.' It's a popular thing to say right now because of what happened in Colorado" Leuchtefeld said.
Leuchtefeld says he won't support Quinn's weapons ban, and will instead will try to restore his original ammunition bill. Earlier this year, the Republican's proposal passed with broad bipartisan support.
A handful of states have assault weapons bans. A federal ban expired in 2004 and attempts to revive it have been unsuccessful.