Illinois lawmakers begin hearings on new bill for stricter gun control
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- State lawmakers are proposing a series of new gun control measures Monday in the hope of curbing gun violence in Illinois.
Lawmakers discussed the new gun safety legislation. The bill is called the Protect Illinois Communities Act. The goal is to ban assault style weapons.
The house Judiciary Committee held its first hearing on the legislation Monday.
Survivors of the Highland Park July 4th parade massacre on Monday urged lawmakers to pass the bill.
"My husband was running with our 6- and 9-year-old boys, literally for their lives – shielding them while exposing himself to shooting bullets," said Lauren Bennett, who was shot during the parade. "What happened to us simply cannot happen to another person; another family again."
Banning assault style weapons though is not the only thing the bill would do. It also includes plans to improve the state's firearm restraining order law, raise the age to get a firearm owners identification card to 21 and also address illegal gun trafficking.
This comes as victims and survivors of gun violence held a vigil in Hyde Park Sunday to honor those who've lost their lives or loved ones to gun violence.
Loved ones lit candles as they honored the approximately 6,600 lives the Chicago Survivors Organization estimates have been lost to gun violence in the U.S. since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.
We're told some of them will be at Monday's hearing as well as survivors from the Highland Park mass shooting. The mayor of Highland Park spoke during Sunday night's vigil.