Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns just got one member smaller.
Larry Morrissey, the independent mayor of Rockford, Ill., has left the coalition because he believes the group no longer serves its original purpose – to keep “illegal” guns off the streets.
“The reason why I joined the group in the first place is because I took the name for what it said. Against ‘Illegal’ guns,” Morrissey said during a recent town hall meeting.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which was co-founded in 2006 by Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, has pushed heavily in recent months for a national assault weapons ban.
“The challenge that we see day in and day out in the city of Rockford is not dealing primarily with assault weapons or machine guns, automatic weapons,” Morrissey said. “It’s dealing with a typical handgun. All of those typical weapons are usually in the hands of people who are prohibited from having them.
“As the original mission swayed, that’s when I decided that it was no longer in line with my beliefs. …So that’s why I dropped out,” he added. “The focus should not be against law-abiding citizens. We should be focusing our enforcement on folks who have no right to carry a gun, concealed or otherwise.”
He added that his personal views on gun control have changed since he was first elected mayor in 2005. Morrissey said that he has received several threats and he doesn’t want to put the safety of himself and his family at risk, adding that he also now supports concealed carry and plans to apply for a permit himself if the ban is lifted in Illinois.
The Illinois General Assembly passed HB 183 in early June, but Gov. Pat Quinn (D) has yet to sign the bill into law. Illinois is the last state in the U.S. that has yet to legalize concealed carry despite a ruling by a federal appeals court in December that banning concealed carry is unconstitutional. Quinn has a July 9 deadline to either issue a veto or sign the bill into law.
