Concealed-carry controversy continues
Updated: February 26, 2013
SPRINGFIELD -- Tensions are rising at the statehouse over concealed-carry. Lawmakers can't agree on a deal.
The full house is debating future gun laws, but they're hitting a roadblock. This has been such a controversial topic, Speaker Madigan decided to break it into smaller pieces to make it more manageable, but it's creating more of a divide.
Instead of one regular bill, lawmakers started with a blank bill allowing full concealed-carry and are now offering up amendments to say when it wouldn't be okay. The conditions include no guns near schools, in public buildings or daycare centers, but critics say those are all the places people need protection the most, and that passing all of the exceptions will basically mean you can't carry anywhere.
One lawmaker compared the method of figuring out the bill out to a jigsaw puzzle; a lot of little pieces which don't all seem to fit together in the end. Critics say debate like this is a waste of time. They started early Tuesday afternoon. They're currently on Amendment #5 of 27.
The full house is debating future gun laws, but they're hitting a roadblock. This has been such a controversial topic, Speaker Madigan decided to break it into smaller pieces to make it more manageable, but it's creating more of a divide.
Instead of one regular bill, lawmakers started with a blank bill allowing full concealed-carry and are now offering up amendments to say when it wouldn't be okay. The conditions include no guns near schools, in public buildings or daycare centers, but critics say those are all the places people need protection the most, and that passing all of the exceptions will basically mean you can't carry anywhere.
One lawmaker compared the method of figuring out the bill out to a jigsaw puzzle; a lot of little pieces which don't all seem to fit together in the end. Critics say debate like this is a waste of time. They started early Tuesday afternoon. They're currently on Amendment #5 of 27.
