Chicago City Wire

Governor J.B. Pritzker is defending the state's sweeping new gun laws as a step toward making streets safer, while also predicting that the new law will survive all the legal challenges it faces on Jan. 24.

According to CBS News, the law bans the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines, along with so-called "switches" that allow semi-automatic firearms to fire rounds automatically, and expands "red flag" laws that pave the way for judges to restrict access to firearms from people deemed to pose a danger.

However, the newly written law has received backlash on the premise that it violates the constitution.

In recent times, similar legislation has been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, including a recent case in New York City area where an Effingham County judge temporarily blocked a gun-control bill on the grounds it violates the state constitution. Currently, there are at least two other legal challenges to the law now being heard, one in state court and another in the federal branch.

Pritzker took part in the debate regarding the new legislation.

He spoke out on Republicans who "talk an awful lot about mental health" and the need to keep assault weapons and other firearms out of the hands of people who suffer from such illnesses, only to vote against such legislation every time it has advanced to the stage of coming up for a full vote.

Efforts have continually been made to decrease violence and the governor insists on doing more to better prevent violence.

"There is a great deal of investment that we've over the last two years made in crime prevention that is in violence prevention on the streets, lots of programs to put kids to, to work during the summers and so on," Pritzker said. "So, we're doing quite a lot. What makes me think that we're going to have a diminution of crime in our state is we're doing all of those things. You can't just do one."