Democrats in the Illinois House on Thursday unveiled a proposal to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and eliminate the ability for most people under the age of 21 to obtain a gun permit in the state.

The legislation, filed on the day of the final legislative session of 2022, is a response to the mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, where seven people were killed and dozens more wounded by a shooter using an assault-style rifle . High Capacity Magazines.

The alleged shooter, Robert Crimo III, obtained a firearm owner’s identification card at age 19 with parental consent, which is permitted under current state law.

The House bill was filed by Democratic state Rep. Bob Morgan of Deerfield, who was marching in the parade at the time of the shooting.

“I spent months meeting with victims, policy experts, community leaders and more,” Morgan, who led a group of House Democrats in putting together the resolution, wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “Thanks to their response and perspective, I am confident that this comprehensive approach gets to the root of the gun violence epidemic and will save lives.”

Lawmakers are not scheduled to return to Springfield until after Jan. 1, but with the new year comes a lower vote threshold to pass legislation that goes into effect immediately. Before the new year, it takes a three-fifths majority in each chamber, but only a simple majority thereafter.

It’s unclear whether current crop lawmakers will take up the measure in early January or put it off until after the new legislature sits on Jan. 11, when House Democrats will see their ranks jump from 73 members to at least 78. Chamber with 118 seats.

While Gov. JB Pritzker and other Democrats have pushed for a ban on assault weapons since the Highland Park shooting, gun control measures have historically failed to garner support among some lower-ranking members of the legislature’s majority party. have been

Morgan’s proposal is in line with some of the recommendations in the 16-page report Released Thursday by experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence SolutionsThat includes banning gun permits for anyone under the age of 21, banning large-capacity magazines, and strengthening the state’s red flag law.

Morgan’s proposal would allow people under the age of 21 to obtain FOID cards only if they are active duty members of the US military or Illinois National Guard.

The measure also seeks to strengthen the state’s firearms restraining order law, the period in which someone can be barred from possessing a gun, from six months to a year, and by giving local prosecutors a greater role in the process. highland park shooting details raised the question whether the law could have been used To prevent the alleged shooter from purchasing the weapon used in the attack.

Morgan said in a statement that he plans to begin hearings on the motion this month.

Kathleen Sanes of the Gun Violence Prevention Political Action Committee said the group’s members “look forward to reviewing the bill and continuing to work in support of needed gun safety solutions.”

“In the absence of a federal ban (on assault weapons), Illinois is long overdue for a statewide ban on those weapons, which are widely used not only in Chicago or Highland Park, but also in Crest Hill, Decatur, East St. continue to kill people. Elgin, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford, Romeoville, Wheeling and Yorkville,” Sans said in a statement. “We don’t have to live like this, and we certainly don’t have to put our neighbors in a swoon.” I don’t want to see you die.”

The Illinois State Rifle Association did not respond to a request for comment on Morgan’s proposal, but in response to the Johns Hopkins report, the group’s executive director, Richard Pearson, said he would prohibit people under the age of 21 from receiving FOID cards. resist stopping.

“If you can die for the country, sign contracts and get married, you should be able to get a FOID card,” Pearson said.

Annie Sweeney of the Chicago Tribune contributed.

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