Illinois Governor Jay Robert Pritzker called for a ban on assault rifles on Sunday after a shooting that killed seven people and injured 26 in Chicago on July 4. “We need to ban assault rifles, not just in Illinois but nationwide“said the governor, a Democrat, to the American channel CNN.
High-capacity magazines should also be banned, according to the politician. “This is material that civilians should not have access to“, he pointed out.
Governor Pritzker is a Democrat, like US President Joe Biden. The latter also advocates the banning of assault rifles but faces fierce opposition from Republicans in Congress.
A 21-year-old man opened fire during a parade on July 4, US Independence Day, in Chicago, killing seven and injuring 26.
The United States has faced a succession of mass shootings in recent months. In May, an 18-year-old man killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. A week later, another racially motivated shooting claimed the lives of ten people in Buffalo, New York.
In the process, the State of New York had restricted the conditions for the purchase of semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines.
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