Facing a state-imposed deadline, a number of Chicago suburbs have voted to outlaw assault weapons, reports the Chicago Tribune. They included Morton Grove, whose village board voted to outlaw assault weapons carrying 31 or more bullets. As suburbs Winnetka and Dolton joined Morton Grove in adopting last-minute gun restrictions, the tally of Chicago-area local governments to pass such laws before last Friday’s deadline was up to more than 15.
State lawmakers had given local governments a 10-day window, starting when they overrode Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of the state’s new concealed carry law, to enact local assault weapons ordinances. Leaders in many communities heard impassioned pleas from residents and activists on both sides of the issues. The spectrum of suburban responses reflects an ongoing but changing nationwide divide. Gallup polls conducted since 2000 showed a declining number of Americans favored more restrictive gun laws, but gun-control support shot up after the 2012 Newtown, Conn., school shooting in which 26 people were killed with an assault weapon.