Thursday, May 30, 2024 – Posted by Rich Miller

* Two press releases from yesterday. The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence…

Today, the Illinois General Assembly ended its spring session, again declining to take action on Karina’s Bill (SB2633), legislation that would strengthen the law to protect domestic violence survivors from firearms. The bill is supported by dozens of domestic violence and gun violence prevention advocates, healthcare organizations, and legal aid groups. The bill is also supported by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and has received supportive comments from Gov. JB Pritzker.

Amanda Pyron, Executive Director of The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, released the following statement:

“It is crystal clear that our laws must be strengthened to empower domestic violence survivors, judges, and law enforcement to keep people safe. Karina’s Bill is an important step in the right direction, and while we are disappointed the General Assembly did not act this session, we are encouraged by the significant progress made to address concerns about the bill and educate the legislature.

“For months, we have talked with stakeholders including law enforcement, advocates, and legislators to understand concerns and discuss improvements. We are confident that the legislation is both constitutional and enforceable. We have also heard concerns about the upcoming Rahimi decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, and believe our state will be well positioned to respond no matter the outcome of that case.

“When domestic violence survivors go to the courts for protection, we must ensure that protection works. The Network, along with our allies in the domestic violence and gun violence prevention spaces, will continue to fight for this legislation, and we hope the legislature will act on this bill during the upcoming veto session.”

More background on the upcoming US Supreme Court’s Rahimi decision is here…

Mr. Rahimi was convicted of possessing a gun while subject to a domestic violence protective order, issued after he violently assaulted his domestic partner in a parking lot and shot a gun when he noticed that others had witnessed his abuse. Mr. Rahimi challenged the law as a violation of the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

One of the counter-arguments I’ve heard from the Senate about that highlighted passage above is it might be better to wait until after Rahimi is decided to see if there is room for state action. But proponents aren’t buying it.

* And G-PAC…

The Gun Violence Prevention PAC (G-PAC) today released the following statement from President and CEO Kathleen Sances after adjournment of the Illinois General Assembly’s spring session.

“After a holiday weekend marked by over 40 shootings, including one that tragically killed 5-year-old Reign Ware, the General Assembly concluded its spring session without acting on any gun safety measures. This is unacceptable. Although shootings and gun homicide rates have decreased, there are still too many incidents of violence that are tearing apart families and communities. We have more work to do.

“I join with over 200 organizations of the Illinois Gun Violence Prevention Coalition in expressing our disappointment that lawmakers did not pass Karina’s Bill to remove firearms from known abusers once an order of protection has been filed. Our laws should work to protect survivors and their safety – not the rights of their abusers.

“The fight to end gun violence will continue this fall, and we will consider this inaction in upcoming general election endorsements. We must protect survivors of domestic violence, curb illegal gun trafficking of lost and stolen guns, and strengthen our laws to ensure safe storage of weapons in Illinois.”

I followed up on the passage I highlighted above, asking them to flesh it out a bit. Since there was no vote in the Senate or the House, how could that impact an endorsement?…

With every endorsement decision, G-PAC considers a lawmaker’s voting record, which we track with our gun safety report cards, as well as a candidate’s questionnaire responses and their commitment to advancing gun safety legislation each session. Advocates and constituents work hard to push for gun safety measures by contacting their legislators, and it’s incumbent on legislators, including rank-and-file members, to continue that work in Springfield. That’s why our electoral work is the most important work G-PAC does, because although there are Democratic super majorities in both chambers, we do not have gun safety simple majorities in both chambers.