* This just in… yet another press pop…

Gov. Pat Quinn plans to propose a ban on assault weapons in Illinois.

The Democrat will use his amendatory veto power Tuesday to include the ban in a bill related to ammunition sales. It would then be up to lawmakers to accept his changes or reject them. […]

His proposal will face big hurdles in Illinois, even after the massacre at a Colorado movie theater renewed national debate about assault weapons.

Cook County’s ban has undergone legal challenges. The Illinois Supreme Court this year reversed lower-court rulings that found the ban constitutional, sending it to trial court.

* From the governor’s AV message…

I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment - the right to bear arms.

However, the proliferation of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines undermines public safety and the rights of personal security of every citizen.

* So, why is this a media stunt? Well, I’ll tell you why.

The Senate bill in question is sponsored by Sen. Dave Luechtefeld, a southern Illinois Republican. As the sponsor, he controls the bill’s fate. And there’s no way Luechtefeld will ever move to accept that amendatory veto. Not gonna happen. Not even if Hell freezes over.

This amendatory veto is merely a way to get the governor’s name in the headlines yet again. Nothing more, nothing less.

*** UPDATE 1 *** And it begins. From a press release…

GOVERNOR’S PUBLIC SCHEDULE
**Tuesday, July, 31 2012**

CHICAGO – Governor Pat Quinn will hold a media availability with Orland Park Police Chief and American hero Tim McCarthy to discuss the governor’s action today seeking a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines in Illinois.

WHEN: 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Fulton’s
The Bridge Room
315 North LaSalle Street
Chicago, 60654

*** UPDATE 2 *** The Sun-Times contacted Sen. Luechtefeld, the bill’s sponsor…

The underlying bill’s sponsor, state Sen. David Luechtefeld (R-Okawville), predicted Quinn’s actions may doom the original legislation because Chicago Democrats will be loathe to support an override and cast votes against the governor on a gun-control issue.

Luechtefeld also accused Quinn of trying to take political advantage of the July 20 shootings in the Denver suburb of Aurora, where 12 theater-goers were murdered and another 58 were wounded by an assailant bearing an assault weapon.

“He likely knows this won’t go any place,” Luechtefeld said of Quinn. “But because of what happened in Colorado, he’s going to exploit that as much as he can.”

To override Quinn’s amendatory veto, Luechtefeld would need 36 votes in the Senate and 71 votes in the House, where House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) traditionally blocks such wholesale rewrites of legislation by governors.

If those supermajorities aren’t reached and there is not a majority vote in each chamber to accept Quinn’s changes, the underlying bill will die, along with the governor’s proposed bans on the sale and possession of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.