Illinois Governor Issues Amendatory Veto Of Assault Weapons Bill

Gov. Bruce Rauner (R-IL) issued an amendatory veto of Illinois HB 1468. An amendatory veto is when the governor replaces language in a bill passed by the Illinois General Assembly with his own language. The General Assembly has three options. First, do nothing and the bill will die. Second, override the veto with a three-fifths vote in each house and the original language becomes law. Finally, pass the law with the amended language with a simple majority.

IllinoisCarry has an extensive post on the amendatory veto which I am posting below. It does contains things that would be objectionable in a more pro-gun state but are seen as a compromise in Illinois. This would include things like a bumpstock and trigger crank ban as well as 72 hour waiting period on all gun sales.

From IllinoisCarry with links to their discussion forum and Gov. Rauner's veto message:

Gov. Rauner issued an amendatory veto yesterday of HB1468. The bill sent to the Governor's desk 60 days ago with a veto proof majority would have codified into law, for the first time in IL history, a broad brush definition of 'assault weapons'. As we had hoped, he stripped the 'assault' language out of the bill and instead opted for a 72 hr. waiting period on all gun sales rather than risk law abiding gun owners getting caught up in a felony trick bag set up by anti-Second Amendment democrats. In a surprising move, the amendatory veto also included instituting the death penalty for mass killers, freed up local revenue to fund resource officers and mental health workers in our schools, a ban on bump stocks, and set the framework for limiting people who are a danger to themselves or others from having access to firearms. 

With the veto, the Governor protects Illinois gun owners from a  gun grabbing scheme which would have made firearm restraining orders easy to obtain, virtually no-penalty for false testimony, and taking firearms away from nearly anyone by almost anybody for any reason. With the amendatory veto, it becomes a roadblock with a  felony penalty for false testimony,  prevents vindictive grudges being used to take firearms from lawful gun owners while providing a process to curb mentally ill respondents - like the Parkland High School and Waffle House killers - who are a danger to themselves or others from legally possessing firearms . It also provides a clear and timely process for restoration of  rights when a person is no longer a danger.

The full text of the veto can be viewed here.  Discussion of the veto can be found on IllinoisCarry's discussion forum.