Collins votes no on concealed carry

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago 16th) issued the following statement on her vote against House Bill 183, legislation allowing Illinois residents to carry concealed, loaded weapons in public:

Today I voted against legislation making Illinois the 50th state to allow concealed carry. I voted against the idea that the right to carry a loaded weapon in public is among Americans’ constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, against the premise that more guns will make us safer and against the pro-gun lobby’s bid to take away the ability of local governments to enact ordinances that protect their residents.

Despite my opposition to putting more guns on streets, I remained optimistic that we could pass a compromise that would at least respect local control. Instead, we were presented with a measure that under the guise of complying with a court order deprives communities of the ability to regulate guns in some ways that have no relationship to the alleged right to carry a firearm in public.

Our parents, teachers and mentors are attending wakes and funerals when they should be celebrating graduations and weddings. Young people who should be selling drinks at lemonade stands are buying and selling guns from the trunks of cars. As an elected representative of violence-plagued communities, I work hard every day to put an end to the bloodshed. The last thing we need is a law that satisfies the demands of a special interest group at the expense of public safety by stripping communities of their means of fighting back against the crime that holds our people hostage.

HB 183 passed the Senate by a vote of 45-12. The House will likely consider it later today.