The debate over banning assault weapons started with a bang today at an Illinois House Committee hearing in Springfield. The head of the Illinois Sheriffs Association said rather than banning assault weapons, more focus is needed on mental health services and on enforcing existing gun laws. The ban's sponsor, lawmaker and Chicago cop Edward Acevedo, said there's no place for weapons of war in our communities. Chicago police numbers show that of more than seven-thousand guns seized last year, only three-hundred would fall under the ban. Chicago police, the state police and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart support an assault weapons ban.
