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From the Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence:
SB 1007: Banning Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines
We need calls going into state legislators specificly for House Bill 1007, which would place a bullet limit on high capacity ammo clips Politics is complicated and the campaign's success is hinging on this bill. If it succeeds, then two other bills, (mandatory reporting of lost or stolen guns and mandatory secondary market sales background checks) will also be introduced. If it fails then the other bills will be pulled.
The gun lobby has its activists at work literally bombarding legislators with hundreds of calls. We need calls from supporters going into legislators' offices. We're very close to having enough votes to put these bills over the top, just a few more and they'll go to the Governor's desk.
Steve Young, Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
Sample Phone Call
Hello, my name is (First, Last) and I am a constituent of Senator/Representative (Last).
I am calling today to express my concern about gun violence in Illinois and to urge Senator/Representative (Last) to support SB1007 designed to prevent gun violence and death.
SB1007 (Kotowski) - this bill would prohibit the manufacture, sale, purchase, and possession of any large capacity ammunition feeding device, like the one purportedly used in the Virginia Tech shootings
Say one or two words about why you support these policies and how gun violence has affected you, your family, or your community. For example:
As a parent, I am extremely concerned for my child’s safety in homes where firearms may not be securely stored….
In my work as a (title), I see how gun violence destroys lives and communities everyday….
(Thank the staff person and leave your name, title and phone number.)
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Policy Option:
SB 1007: Banning Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines
SB1007 (Kotowski) – This bill would prohibit the manufacture, sale, purchase, and possession of any large capacity ammunition feeding device, like the one purportedly used in the Virginia Tech shootings.
What does it mean?
Large capacity ammunition magazines feed ammunition automatically into the chamber of a firearm. In some cases, large capacity magazines can hold up to 100 rounds of ammunition, which enables the user to fire many times without reloading. Large capacity magazines are typically associated with machine guns or semi-automatic assault weapons, and are a particular danger because they increase the capacity and lethality of the weapons that use them.
Assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines were banned at the federal level from 1994 until 2004, when Congress and the President allowed the ban to expire.
What would it really do?
A ban on large capacity ammunition magazines would make it unlawful to manufacture, sell and possess any large capacity ammunition feeding devices.
Since the federal assault weapons ban expired, police departments across the country have experienced an increased presence of these high-powered weapons on the streets.1 Crime data also support the conclusion that a ban on large capacity magazines would have a greater impact on gun crime than a ban on assault weapons alone. Guns equipped with large capacity magazines were involved in 14 to 26% of gun crimes prior to the assault weapon ban in 1994, as compared with assault weapons, which accounted for 6% of gun crimes. Thus, a ban on large capacity ammunition magazines would reduce the capacity and lethality of many more firearms than would a ban on assault weapons alone. 2
What does the public think?
- Eight in 10 Illinois voters favor a law to ban assault weapons. More people with firearms behavior (including voters who are gun owners, members of the NRA, hunters and/or FOID cardholders) strongly favor an assault weapons ban (44%) than strongly oppose it (31%). When it comes to supporting a ban on the sale and possession of powerful, military-grade fifty-caliber rifles, 77% of Illinois voters support such a measure. To read more polling results from the 2007 Voter Survey on Gun Regulations, click here.
- National surveys conducted in 2000 and 2002 found that 67% - 71% of adults favored the federal ban on assault weapons, and 65% of registered voters favored renewal of the ban.3
- In November 2006, more than 85% of Cook County voters supported a referendum calling for a state-wide ban on assault weapons.
What are the facts?
Have Other States or Jurisdictions Enacted Similar Legislation?
California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York have enacted laws banning large capacity ammunition magazines. Chicago bans the transfer, acquisition or possession of any ammunition magazine having the capacity of more than 12 rounds.6
Final Thought
Anyone over twenty-one with a FOID card in Illinois has the ability to purchase a large capacity ammunition magazine. Banning large capacity ammunition magazines has wide-ranging support from citizens across Illinois, law enforcement, the medical community, and both Republican and Democratic legislators. Average citizens don’t want or need these deadly magazines that increase the lethality of weapons.
SB1007 (Amended by Sen. Kotowski)
This bill would prohibit the manufacture, sale, purchase, and possession of any large capacity ammunition feeding device, like the one purportedly used in the Virginia Tech shootings.
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