December 8, 2022
State Rep. Bob Morgan was marching in the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park when a 21-year-old resident allegedly used an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle to open fire, killing seven people.
Morgan says he’d been impacted by gun violence previously and was interested in the pursuit of what he calls common-sense legislation. But the Deerfield Democrat said the Highland Park shooting is among the recent incidents that have brought renewed urgency to the issue.
Last week, Morgan introduced a wide-ranging gun control bill (House Bill 5855) that would prevent the future sale of what the measure describes as “assault weapons,” as well as large-capacity magazines and devices that can switch other firearms into machine-gun style guns.
“I don’t want to wait because every day that we wait is just another mass shooting and that is incredibly real and poignant reminder of the urgency behind this work,” Morgan said. “The urgency of this is something I live with every day.”