Rauner vetoes bill to license gun stores

CHICAGO — Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed legislation Tuesday that would have required gun retailers to be licensed by the state of Illinois, calling it “unnecessary, burdensome regulation” that would have hurt small business owners and wouldn’t have made communities safer.

“The core issue is not which guns to legally ban or regulate,” the Republican said. “We have ample proof that such narrowly focused legislative responses make for good political cover, but they do little to stop the illegal flow of guns into Illinois or prevent people from committing thousands of crimes in our state each year with illegal guns.”

The veto comes a week before the state’s primary election in which Rauner faces a challenge from conservative state Rep. Jeanne Ives, who says Rauner has betrayed Republicans with his actions on several issues. Last week, Ives’ campaign criticized the governor for not publicly stating his position on the licensing bill, calling it “the prelude to yet another betrayal.”

The Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed the measure and sent it to Rauner about two weeks ago, giving him 60 days to take action on it.

Read more: http://rockrivertimes.com/2018/03/13/rauner-vetoes-bill-to-license-gun-stores/