Lake County Gazette

The city of Highland Park passed a resolution in support of a proposed gun safety proposal, "Ethan’s Law," at its April 24 meeting.

Lake County Board member Paul Frank spoke in favor of Senate Bill 1521 and implored council members to give their stamp of approval for the bill making its way through the Illinois General Assembly, as the county board did.

“We do have a sort of...tepid version of safe storage law in Illinois, but it needs to be strengthened,” Frank said. 

He added that in spite of partisan challenges among Lake County Board members, "we had a full unanimous support for our resolution in support of Ethan's law.

"And one of the most compelling things to think about when advocating for safe storage laws is obviously access by children, but also those who are seeking attempting suicide.”

The board uploaded a live stream of its public meeting to the city’s YouTube channel.

Ethan’s Law is named after a young boy from Connecticut, Ethan Song, who was killed by an unsecured firearm. 

Ethan’s parents, Kristen and Mike, spoke to Lake County board members at an earlier meeting this year, sharing their story and advocating for the law as “they have dedicated the rest of their lives to advocating for safe storage laws in all 50 states and federally.” 

The proposed law would require gun owners to secure their firearms in a “secure gun storage or safety device” if a minor could be likely able to gain access to the firearm without permission, or if there is a resident in the dwelling that cannot legally possess a firearm under the state law. 

SB1521 was introduced in the Senate in February and is currently under Assignments, sponsored by Sen. Laura Ellman (D-Naperville), and Senators Laura Fine (D-Glenview), Mary Edly-Allen (D-Grayslake), and Ann Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights).

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering read a resolution in support of the law, asking the council to stand with her. 

“Now, therefore, be it resolved by the mayor and city Council, the city of Highland Park, the city of Highland Park supports citizens while the safe storage of firearms, and be it further resolved that the Mayor and City Council of the City of Highland Park urges our state legislators to progress and support Ethan's Law in 2023. And we know that the session is nearing its end. So if we move forward with this, we will be certainly letting them know immediately that we support the passage of Ethan's.” 

The council voted unanimously on the resolution supporting Ethan's Law.

The board will meet again at 5:30 p.m. on Monday at the City Hall’s council chambers at 1701 St. Johns Ave.

Highland Park is a community that is very aware of gun control and gun safety issues, as they are continually recovering from the mass shooting event that occurred at their annual Fourth of July parade in 2022. With the one-year anniversary of the event that led to seven deaths, community members are proud to support actions and legislation that will prevent any other communities from experiencing what they did.