From The Center Square:

Illinois U.S. Senate candidates at odds on facing gun violence

• By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Gun control is expected to be a major issue heading into the November elections, and Illinois’ U.S. Senate candidates are sounding off.

In the wake of recent mass shootings, incumbent U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Schaumburg, wants to ban certain semi-automatic weapons.

“There’s no need for AR-15’s or other assault weapons and high capacity magazines to be available to the civilian population,” Duckworth said last week at a news conference in Washington D.C.

Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Kathy Salvi said instead of looking at banning certain guns, state red flag laws and mental health should be the focus.

“Before we pass or look at any new laws, let’s implement the laws that we have on the books first,” Salvi told WMAY.

Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Bill Redpath said there has to be a deep evaluation of such an idea without running afoul with U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

“It’s not my opinion that matters so much as it is the U.S. Supreme Court and that they decided in the Heller case that it involved a right to keep and bear arms and it was decided in the McDonald case and it was decided in the New York case recently,” Redpath told The Center Square.

The U.S. Supreme Court last month struck down a New York gun law that required residents to prove they had “proper cause” to receive a permit to carry a firearm outside the home.

With increased focus on guns following several mass shootings, including the July 4 shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, there’s also ongoing gun violence in Chicago. Redpath said one step to holistically address gun violence is to end the war on drugs.

“After the end of alcohol prohibition, the per capita murder rate in this nation went down for I believe it was seven consecutive years,” Redpath said.

“There is nothing that can be done to stem gun violence in this nation that would be more effective than ending the war on drugs.”

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And from Bearing Arms come this about Duckworth:

The original source is WGLT, the Public Radio Station at Illinois State University:

Part of the story:

“I would like to see a nationwide reinstatement of the assault weapons ban, which was allowed to expire in 2004,” she said.

Duckworth said the biggest killer of children under the age of 16 is gun violence in the United States.

“A big portion of what’s happening is assault weapons, which are weapons of war, and the high capacity magazines that are used,” she said. “They just simply don’t belong on the streets of this of this country. And I’m gonna work to suspend, and to abandon them.”

Duckworth said she’s glad to see expanded mental health services, law enforcement information sharing, and school safety funding come from the bipartisan legislation. But she’s hopeful it’s the start of a broader legislative effort.

“I’d like to see a national FOID card. You know, in Illinois, we have a FOID card. It doesn’t stop people from being able to purchase weapons. But I think it’s important that everyone should have a background check,” she said. “You shouldn’t just be able to walk into a gun show and buy a gun without a background check. I think we need to significantly close that loophole.”