Gov. Pat Quinn has given himself a tough job in trying to pass a ban on assault weapons.
He introduced the plan by using his veto powers to gut a bill and replace it with the proposed ban. The Chicago Democrat says that's constitutional, but at least one Illinois Supreme Court ruling suggests otherwise.
A court challenge seems likely if the ban is approved. But approval is a longshot.
The bill Quinn amended is controlled by an opponent of gun control. There's almost no chance he would allow a vote on banning assault weapons.
And if it passed the state Senate, the House might rule that the governor exceeded his authority by making such a sweeping change with his amendatory veto.