More Top Picks Best Hybrid Pillows For Back Pain
player ready...Park Ridge Mayor Marty Maloney will sign a resolution of the Northwest Municipal Conference calling on state and federal leaders to enact an assault weapons ban on behalf of Park Ridge after casting the tie-breaking vote in its favor at the final City Council meeting of the year.
At the Dec. 19 meeting, Ald. Harmony Harrington, Ald. Mwende Lefler and Ald. John Moran voted yes, while Ald. Charlie Melidosian voted no. Ald. Rick Biagi, Ald. Gail Wilkening and Ald. Fred Sanchez all abstained from a vote on the resolution.
That left the mayor as the tie vote to determine whether he’d sign the resolution on behalf of the city.
Maloney, who had expressed deep frustration with the typical news cycle that follows gun violence tragedies in the wake of the Highland Park July 4 massacre, voted yes.
The resolution was first discussed at a Dec. 5 City Council meeting and garnered about an hour’s worth of public comments alongside discussion from aldermen.
The updated version of the resolution calls on state and federal officials to “ban the manufacture, purchase, sale, possession and use of all semi-automatic versions of military style assault weapons, high-capacity ammunition cartridges and magazines, and body armor, except as needed by military and law enforcement bodies.”
It also calls for stronger legislation requiring background checks, waiting periods and age requirements for those seeking to purchase a gun as well as “red flag” laws that allow law enforcement to take action against a person with a gun who could endanger themselves or others.
Originally, the resolution was set to go to the Northwest Municipal Conference’s Executive Committee for discussion Dec. 7 with the hope of sending it to Springfield for the January 2023 lame duck session.
Maloney had council members discuss the non-binding resolution at the meeting and took public comment, then told aldermen he’d also take email feedback in determining whether the city would be a signatory to the measure.
But with the vote pushed into January, aldermen had the chance on Dec. 19 to cast their own votes on the matter.
They did so with virtually no discussion, but the feedback they had provided to Maloney in the preceding weeks was part of the publicly available materials distributed with the meeting agenda.
Melidosian wrote on Dec. 12 that while he supports some steps to reduce gun violence, he was against the city endorsing the resolution, saying the outcome of the matter ought to be done by referendum.
“If we thought a debate on cannabis warranted a referendum, wouldn’t forcing a large percentage of our residents to forfeit and surrender guns merit a referendum?” Melidosian wrote.
Melisodian also objected to the call to ban semi-automatic guns, which he said was overly broad, and said “this resolution is not real world passable.”
Biagi told Maloney that the Highland Park shooting was “nothing short of tragic” and agreed that elected officials at higher levels of government should do more to address gun violence, but said he didn’t think the measure on the table would move the needle.
“I do not believe that non-binding resolutions at a local level have a meaningful impact in changing the course of matters that have such profound importance to our state and our nation,” he wrote. “Nevertheless, if you believe that signing this resolution will indeed lower the number of mass shootings and gun violence, then I support your efforts to attach your signature to the resolution.”
Moran acknowledged that the resolution is non-binding and therefore a gesture by the conference members, but told Maloney he’d support it anyway.
“Although the wording is not perfect, this is purely a symbolic resolution, so the details are not as important,” Moran wrote. “I’m sure the folks in Springfield will work with their attorneys to iron out the details and ensure the constitutionality of their efforts.”
In his feedback to Maloney, Sanchez noted he had recently heard audio of the calls that the Regional Emergency Dispatch Center had received during the Highland Park shooting, which he called “chilling and heartbreaking.”
“I do not disagree that something has to change,” Sanchez wrote.
More Top Picks Best Rechargeable Book Lights
However, he said, “I think it’s a bit disingenuous to think that a resolution passed on a local level will accomplish anything of consequence as it relates to an issue that ultimately will find its way before the Supreme Court of the United States of America.”
The Northwest Municipal Conference Board of Directors meeting is now set for Jan. 11, per city documents and the organization’s website.