Democratic Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday morning announced that he hopes to rewrite the state's new concealed carry bill -- approved by the legislature by veto-proof majorities -- to be more strict.
Quinn announced his decision to use his amendatory veto power on the measure in Chicago, saying that the bill state lawmakers sent him is flawed and in need of tweaking, according to the Associated Press.
Among the changes the Illinois governor is pushing for include banning firearms from any establishment (including restaurants) that serves alcohol, reinstating "home-rule" communities' authority to institute assault weapons bans, requiring a weapon to be completely -- not just "mostly" -- concealed and allowing employers to ban weapons in their workplaces, the State Journal-Register reports.
All the changes have been outlined on a new website at KeepIllinoisSafe.org.
"I am compelled to use my constitutional authority to rectify several specific issues, to establish a better law to protect the people of Illinois," Quinn said in his veto message, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Quinn elaborated in a press release reported by the Capitol Fax blog that the bill contained too many provisions "inspired by the National Rifle Association, not the common good."
Per a federal ruling, Illinois is facing a July 9 deadline by which it may no longer hold the status of the only U.S. state to ban concealed carry.
Supporters of the concealed carry "compromise" bill the Illinois legislature approved in late May said Quinn's anticipated veto was being issued "for political reasons" ahead of the Tuesday announcement.
The legislature is expected to override Quinn's veto, possibly as soon as next week, though mum was the word for both House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton following the governor's Tuesday announcement, as Reuters reports.
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