S. Illinois community likely to repeal gun requirement

GOREVILLE, Ill. — Leaders in the small southern Illinois community of Goreville are set to meet Monday to repeal an old village ordinance that requires residents to own a gun.

Trustees are scheduled to hold a special evening meeting to repeal the measure that Mayor Larry Vaughn said was likely adopted sometime in the early 1980s.

The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan reports local leaders initially approved the law to make a statement after another community near Chicago voted to ban firearms in homes.

Mayor Larry Vaughn tells WSIL-TV that the village attorney discovered the ordinance, which officials thought had been taken off the books years ago.

Turns out, it never was.

“If a kid accidentally began shooting a gun in the house, we could be held liable,” Mayor Pro Tem Don Kerley told the newspaper.

Village attorney Elvis Cameron said it’s likely the ordinance just “slipped through the cracks.” But he hopes a vote on Monday will clear up any confusion once and for all.

The Johnson County community has about 1,050 residents and is 18 miles southeast of Carbondale.