Illinois state Rep. Jonathan Carroll previously sponsored legislation that enacted a 72-hour waiting period for assault weapon sales in Illinois. | facebook.com/RepCarroll
Illinois state Rep. Jonathan Carroll previously sponsored legislation that enacted a 72-hour waiting period for assault weapon sales in Illinois. | facebook.com/RepCarroll
State Rep. Jonathan Carroll (D-Buffalo Grove) is proudly touting his A+ rating by Gun Violence Prevention Illinois.
“Today I was recognized with an A+ rating by Gun Violence Prevention Illinois," Carroll said in a post to Facebook. "I am dedicated to continue to support legislation that will help make our communities safer.”
Carroll previously sponsored legislation that enacted a 72-hour waiting period for assault weapon sales in Illinois.
“Since coming to Springfield, I’ve made it a core aspect of my mission to work with everyone,” he posted on his website. “If there’s a way to make our state a better place, I’m all for it.”
The year 2020 was a deadly year across the state, with the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office reporting there were 875 people killed in gun violence, with 78% of the victims being Black, according to ABC 7.
“That is by far the highest total of gun-related homicides we have ever had,” said Natalia Derevyanny, spokeswoman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. “The only time we came anywhere near that was in 1994 when we had 838 homicides due to gun violence.
Overall, shootings and murders were up more than 50% over 2020. Murders jumped to 769 from 419 the year before.
With the pandemic taking a heavy toll, Cook County also recorded a total of 16,049 deaths in 2020, which was also a record.
All the violence has come despite Illinois being home to some of the strictest gun laws in the country: Requirements must be fulfilled prior to the firearms application process; gun permits can only be used for concealed carry with no option for open carry; the manufacturing and assembling of firearms is banned; and the state has a 21-year-old age limit for possessing any firearms.
Former NYPD detective David Chianese told Fox that “the majority” of crime guns are acquired through illegal means.
“Stricter or additional gun laws do not reduce gun violence,” he said. A Department of Justice survey in 2019 found that only 10% of crime guns were purchased by the criminal from the retailer.
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