Southern Illinois legislators host town hall meeting to address gun control issues

MARION, Ill. (KFVS) - The public was invited to attend a town hall-style meeting to address gun control issues.

UPDATE: Six Republican southern Illinois lawmakers hosted the meeting at the Marion at the Cultural and Civic Center on Tuesday, January 17.

The meeting was held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and covered the recent assault weapon ban.

The law limits the sales of high-capacity ammunition magazines and requires existing owners of semi-automatic rifles to register their ownership with law enforcement.

State Senators Dale Fowler and Terri Bryant, along with State Representatives Patrick Windhorst, Dave Severin, Paul Jacobs and David Friess attended the forum.

The message from the legislators was that they are all pro Second Amendment. But as many moving parts are still happening with the assault weapon ban, they told those in the crowd that they will continue to work to protect that right.

“We obviously feel like it’s unconstitutional and obviously our sheriffs do, the NRA does, the Illinois State Rifle Association,” Sen. Fowler said. “So that’s the reason why we have the process engaged like it is so we’ll see how it unfolds.”

According to Richard Pearson of the Illinois Rifle Association, the group filed a lawsuit in Ill.

“I will tell you also, we are prepared to take this to the Supreme Court of the United States, we will not give up.” said Pearson.

In addition to discussing gun control issues, the lawmakers will also talked about the new district map boundaries and what could be addressed during the Spring 2023 legislative session.

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