New legislators in Illinois will gather feedback on gun control from hunters, mental health experts and victims of violence. Lieutenant Governor, Sheila Simon launched a firearms working group yesterday that includes Democrats and Republicans. Representative Mike Smiddy is a Democrat from Hillsdale. He says lawmakers need to understand the Chicago area and downstate have different needs when it comes to guns:
"In my district we have manufactures that produce almost 50 million dollars in revenue. We need to ensure that it doesn't hurt the local economies as well and we don't have a lot of gun manufacturers in the city here."
Last month, a panel of the federal appeals court deemed the state's ban on carrying concealed weapons unconstitutional. The judges gave lawmakers 180 days to write a new law. The firearms working group is gathering information before the law is written.
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