2023 is off to a good start for all of Illinois and off to a predictably lousy start for Republicans in Congress.
On January 10 Governor Pritzker signed the bill to ban assault weapon sales in Illinois, joining multiple other states in banning sales of these military style weapons. Sadly this effort
did not accelerate until after a gunman used his assault weapon to kill seven in Highland Park shattering the fantasy that ‘it can’t happen here’.
By contrast Republicans in the House of Representatives managed to seat Kevin McCarthy as Speaker after 15 votes and capitulation to their anti-government wing. Their first legislative bill was not aimed to address what they campaigned upon: crime, inflation, immigration. No, it was to remove the funding added to the IRS budget to ensure proper enforcement of tax laws on the wealthy.
In Illinois the impact of the gun bill will be to prevent more high capacity weapons from being added to our streets and neighborhoods.
In Congress the impact of the Republican bill will be nothing. The funding change the
Republicans want must be confirmed by the Senate and signed by the President. The Senate will not even vote on this and certainly President Biden would not sign it. The only thing
Republicans gain with this bill is a fund raising talking point to con funds from their unwitting
supporters.
So, to start 2023 Democratic legislators are acting to protect the public in two ways: by
keeping more weapons out of our neighborhoods and by maintaining fiscally responsible policies nationally. A good start to build upon.