Important message or partisan move? Naperville City Council candidates differ on local gun ban

Citing a series of mass shootings, including the July 4 attack in Highland Park that killed seven and wounded dozens, the Naperville City Council in August passed an ordinance banning the sale of certain high-powered weapons.

With four of the eight city council seats open and only one incumbent running in the April 4 election, the 11 candidates have differing opinions on the action and its timing.

The debate took on added significance in January when Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed even broader gun legislation into state law. Now that the city of Naperville is being sued by a gun shop owner and the National Association for Gun Rights over the legality of the local ordinance, city council candidates are weighing in on whether the state should have taken the lead instead of Naperville.

The lone incumbent, Councilman Patrick Kelly, stands behind his support of the ordinance and the 8-1 vote.

"One of the reasons that we moved forward with this was because of the inaction of other levels of government," he said. "A few of us on council just decided we had seen enough and did not want to be part of this problem at a local level."

Six other candidates agree with Kelly on the importance of Naperville passing the gun sale ban. While Allison Longenbaugh acknowledged the law won't solve all gun safety issues, she applauded the council's stance of "not on our watch" when it comes to prohibiting the sale of high-powered weapons in Naperville.

Other candidates, however, disagree.

Nag Jaiswal and Nate Wilson said the issue should be handled at the state and federal level. Wilson, who said it was well known the state was going to take up the issue before the Naperville City Council acted, questioned the pro bono legal work offered to the city in defense against lawsuits, saying, "As we all know, nothing's ever free."

Meghna Bansal also said the issue should have been kept at the state and federal levels because of the financial exposure to Naperville taxpayers caused by possible lawsuits. Josh McBroom said he believes a vote was pressed to influence the elections of city council members who ran for higher office in November.

"I think it was fully a partisan move to put it on the agenda," he said.

Madhu Uppal approved of the vote, saying, "You have to stand up for your values." Jodi Trendler, Ashley South, Ashfaq Syed and Rebecca Malotke-Meslin supported the ordinance as well, saying it was important for Naperville to be seen as a leader on the issue.

"It does send the message that Naperville wants to be a safe community," Trendler said.