The Highland Park City Council passed a resolution supporting statewide and federal bans on “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines, calling them a “threat to our American freedom.”
The council met Monday evening and passed the resolution unanimously.
The resolution calls on Congress and the Illinois General Assembly to ban the manufacture, purchase, sale, possession and use of all semi-automatic weapons, high-capacity magazines and body armor.
The resolution also calls for legislation strengthening background checks, “red flag” laws, enacting higher liability and penalty for straw buyers, and mandating safe firearm storage and training.
The city previously banned “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines in 2013 following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said a local ban was the “only option available” under the law, and she said a federal ban would be the most effective.
“Nothing has changed and we need help from all levels of government. We need to pursue all options,” Rotering said.
“No city, town, or village should have to endure the devastation and trauma of a mass shooting,” she added.
The city council is also calling for Congress to repeal laws providing immunity from liability to firearms manufacturers for “their negligence, recklessness, or failure to know their customers and their potential for harm to the public in the marketing and sale of firearms.”
The city council also called on the state to enact stricter rules for Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cards, like screening applicants more rigorously.
The resolution comes after a mass shooting in Highland Park during a Fourth of July parade that left seven people dead and over 45 injured.
Robert Crimo III, 21, of Highwood, is charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm.
Crimo allegedly fired a total of 83 rounds using three 30-round magazines from his Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semi-automatic rifle, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon said during a bond hearing early last month.
The resolution called Crimo’s rifle a military-grade “assault weapon” that is “designed and configured for combat use with the sole purpose of killing as many people as possible.”
“Assault weapons and large-capacity magazines are combat weapons and do not belong in the hands of civilians,” the resolution said.
Last week, the Lake County Board passed a similar resolution supporting state and federal legislation to ban the sale and possession of “assault rifles.”
“Their [Lake County Board] action sends a message that by working together we can save human lives and keep other cities from enduring the pain and heartache we feel in Highland Park,” Rotering said.
“Make no mistake, this is not where we end our fight to save lives. We ask others to join us, and trade thoughts and prayers for action,” Rotering said.