This committee will conduct a study to create a profile of Gun Violence in the Elgin Area. Items that may be covered include:

  • Analyze local data on gun-related incidents in the past three years.
  • Examine local law enforcement strategies to prevent gun violence.
  • Investigate community outreach programs and results. (This is because Aurora police attributed its low crime rate to working with community organizations, etc. Has Elgin done anything in that way?)
  • Review laws/regulations pertaining to gun sales.
  • Investigate compliance with laws/regulations.
  • Other areas of activity
    • Interviews with local experts and community leaders.
    • Examination of incidents where persons with mental illness are being involved in gun violence.
    • School safety programs and procedures.

LWVIL’s position: Support for handgun and assault weapon control.

Position in Brief: The League supports legislative controls to stop the proliferation of private ownership of handguns and their irresponsible use. The League advocates restricting access to automatic and semi-automatic assault type weapons.

[one_fourth] HANDGUN CONTROL (1976): [/one_fourth] [three_fourth last=last] To curb the proliferation of the private ownership of handguns and their irresponsible use, the League supports a ban on the further manufacture, sale, transportation and importation of handguns and their parts. The League supports restrictive regulation of all handguns and ammunition, enforcement of existing regulations and strict penalties for crimes committed with a handgun. The League favors federal legislation governing the use of handguns, but will support legislation at all levels of government meeting League criteria. The League will not support state or federal legislation for specific areas only, such as metropolitan or high crime areas.

To ensure that handgun owners assume complete responsibility for their handguns, the League supports registration of the handgun itself so that it can be traced to its owner. There should be comprehensive licensing procedures, with gun safety education, fingerprinting and photographs, plus a verification of the applicant’s qualifications and a permit system that restricts handgun ownership. Sufficient fees should be paid by handgun owners to cover administrative costs. Ideally, local or state governments should enforce federal standards.

The League supports handgun safety education only if it is required for owners as part of the licensing procedure, does not promote or glorify handgun usage or ownership, and is used to convey the dangers of handgun misuse and ownership.

The League supports regulation of handgun dealers. All dealers selling handguns must be carefully regulated to assure that they are legitimate dealers and not merely persons wishing to have access to interstate shipments. The League recommends high fees, annual renewal of licenses and a thorough investigation of dealers and their places of business. The League supports the need for further controls or elimination of mail order sales and interstate shipments.[/three_fourth]

[one_fourth] ASSAULT WEAPONS CONTROL (1989): [/one_fourth] [three_fourth last=last] The League advocates restricting access to automatic and semi-automatic assault type weapons. These weapons present a clear and unequivocal danger to public safety. Therefore, the League believes that it is essential to restrict or prohibit the possession and sale, manufacture, importation and transportation of semi-automatic assault type weapons for private ownership. Additionally, the sale of ammunition for these weapons should be restricted or prohibited. The League favors restrictive legislation at both the state and federal levels.[/three_fourth]