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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CALLING ON THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS TO ENACT AND THE GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS TO SIGN A STATEWIDE BAN ON ASSAULT WEAPONS
WHEREAS, in July of 2014 the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved a nonbinding, county-wide voter referendum calling on the Illinois General Assembly to enact the Illinois Public Safety Act, Senate Bill 3659, requiring universal background checks for firearm transfers and prohibiting the sale and transfer of assault weapons, assault weapon attachments and high capacity ammunition magazines; and,
WHEREAS, on November 4, 2014 the voters of Cook County approved the aforementioned referendum, with 87 per cent of the votes cast in favor; and,
WHEREAS, the General Assembly adjourned in 2015 without taking action on Senate Bill 3659; and,
WHEREAS, in the year that followed this failure to enact meaningful firearm legislation, 2015, 2,996 people in the City of Chicago were shot, with 445 of those shooting victims killed; and,
WHEREAS, in 2016 to date 1,810 people have been shot, and over 300 people killed; and,
WHEREAS, in 2016 to date the Chicago Police Department has confiscated and removed from the streets of Chicago over 2,400 guns; and,
WHEREAS, in 2016 to date the Cook County Sheriff has confiscated and removed from the streets of Cook County 347 guns; and,
WHEREAS, the recent massacre in an Orlando, Florida, as well as too many other similar incidents throughout the United States of America, have shown the extraordinary damage and loss of life that can be caused by semi-automatic assault weapons and high capacity magazines; and,
WHEREAS, gun violence in Chicago and Cook County has reached a crisis point requiring swift and meaningful legislative action; and,
WHEREAS, military-style assault weapons have no place on the streets of the City of Chicago in Cook County, as they have no purpose other than to kill; and,
WHEREAS, it is right and prop...
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