Morton Grove Board Hears Comments, Says Assault Weapons Ordinance A Compromise

As Trustee John Thill was leaving his home to attend Wednesday's Morton Grove village board meeting and comment session on an assault weapons ban, his said his wife told him, "put on your big boy pants, because half the people in the room are going to love you, and half will hate you."

Thill recounted that at the meeting, putting it into perspective by saying that while he hasn't warmed to the word "politician," one thing a politician has to do is compromise. 

"I think there's been a lot of compromise put into it," he said of the ordinance governing assault weapons, which had its first reading Wednesday. The board will vote on it Thursday, July 18 to meet a July 19 deadline that was imposed, in effect, by the state legislature when it passed a concealed carry bill July 9.

Background: State's concealed carry bill gave home rule municipalities 10 days to pass a law governing assault weapons or forfeit the opportunity to do so

The six Morton Grove trustees and Mayor Dan DiMaria had to weigh comments speakers made at a Monday town hall meeting and again Wednesday.

Speakers had strong feelings on both sides of the issue. On Monday, David Azra said  he was against the ban, and that gun rights should be left to the state.

"The Second Amendment is very clear in its intent and purposes," he said.

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David Weintraub, also against the ban, on Monday asked what litigation was going to cost Morton Grove. 

Others cited their rights to self-defense, to participate in shooting sports and other reasons to oppose a ban.

However, former trustee Georgianne Brunner called on the board Monday to pass a measure regulating assault weapons.

Laura Frisch and Jose Arguello, both teachers, did the same on Monday.

"I am not going to go into my preschool class saying I did nothing to protect those children," Frisch said. "We are not talking about bricks, not handguns or rifles or bb guns, we are talking about the safety of our community."

After listening to the diverse viewpoints, trustees and staff wrote an ordinance that bans people from taking firearms with a magazine holding 31 or more rounds out of their homes (taking it to a home they have been invited into is also allowed). 

After the meeting, Morton Grove Police Chief Mark Erickson characterized it as an innovative ordinance that no other municipality in the state that he knew of had put forward. The ordinance would not prohibit AR-15s, which have magazines that carry either 20 or 30 rounds, he said. 

When DiMaria gave trustees a chance to make comments, Trustee Bill Grear said he was not a gun owner, but didn't believe it was his job to tell his community what kinds of hobby they can or can't have.

"The time frame is important to me because…if we don’t pass anything, then we don’t give our children an opportunity to adjust or make up their own minds down the line," he said. 

"(The ordinance)  does not ban a certain class of firearm. You have a constitutional right and I feel this board should respect that right."

She said she felt the ordinance was a good compromise, and that the limitation of 31 rounds or more would not infringe on those who engage in shooting sports.

On Wednesday, some speakers said they felt the ordinance was a reasonable compromise; others continued to express a desire for or against a ban.