HR1015 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1015 LRB099 16898 GRL 41245 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives, like all Americans, are heartbroken at the amount of senseless gun violence in the United States; and

WHEREAS, However, we do not believe the actions taken by President Obama address the root cause of gun violence, such as illegally obtained firearms; and

WHEREAS, Furthermore, we do not believe that the unilateral actions taken by President Obama provide an environment to begin a productive or collaborative discussion; and

WHEREAS, We are in agreement with the United States Supreme Court's decision in the case of the District of Columbia v. Heller, which confirmed that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear firearms; we also agree with Justice Antonin Scalia that the Second Amendment ". . . elevates above all other interests the right of law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home"; and

WHEREAS, On January 5, 2016, the President announced a series of gun control actions in the form of executive orders during a press conference at the White House; and

WHEREAS, One executive order will increase the number of vendors who are required to conduct criminal background checks when they sell guns; and

WHEREAS, These executive orders will result in hiring more federal employees to handle those reviews and require dealers to inform federal authorities when a gun sold online is lost or stolen during transit; these executive orders on gun control will also affect many individuals by revoking licenses for dealers who do not sell a sufficient number of firearms; and

WHEREAS, This body will take every action to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we pledge to uphold our oath of office to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Illinois.