President Donald Trump's proposals on school security were front and center during a forum Thursday afternoon with candidates for Illinois attorney general.
State Rep. Scott Drury, an attorney by trade, voiced his opposition to arming teachers in schools.
"The answer to gun violence in schools is not to put more guns in schools," Drury said. "To sit and listen to Donald Trump say we will just arm all of our teachers--that’s absolutely backwards."
Former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn supports an assault weapons ban.
"I think we need to ban assault weapons, we need to put limits on high capacity magazines, we need to license gun dealers, and most of all, we need to give the people a chance to vote on this," he said.
As did attorney and former Chicago police oversight official Sharon Fairley.
"We just need an assault ban," she said. "We just need to get that done."
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Sen. Kwame Raoul also vocalized against assault weapons but honed in on handgun violence as well.
"I am against assault weapons, but on a daily basis, we are losing kids to handguns in the hands of people who simply shouldn’t have them," he said.
Such a ban is already in place in Highland Park, where Nancy Rotering, also a candidate for attorney general, is mayor.
"We banned assault weapons and large capacity magazines in Highland Park under a 10-day window that was provided in the concealed carry act," she said. "We got sued by the NRA, we got taken to the Supreme Court and we prevailed."
Now Sen. Tammy Duckworth is hoping the time is right for a national assault weapons ban.
"The problem is the Republican leadership in both houses of Congress won't let this come up for a vote," she said.
Gary slutkin/founder &ceo cure violence (00:20) "This has been a stuck problem, obviously," said Cure Violence CEO Gary Slutkin.
A problem Congressman Mike Quigley is proposing to fight a new way.
"We are here today because we have to find options that have a shot at getting accomplished," he said.
He suggested attacking violence as a public health problem and funding the CDC to search for a cure.
"If you have an assault weapon, like you have in so many of these shootings, designed for a theater of war with a 30 round clip," he said. "You are not protecting your home, you are not hunting deer--you are hunting people."
