• BlueRoomStream, Greg Bishop
Illinois gun owners march to the capitol, state Rep. Margo McDermed, R-Mokena, Aurora resident Steward Lewis and Rockford resident Dorothy Kazuk talk about gun rights in Springfield Wednesday April 25.
Gun owners gathered in the Illinois capitol Wednesday for the annual Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day as a plan to override a controversial gun control measure failed. 
I-GOLD started at a convention center in Springfield, which then turned into a march down Capitol Avenue to the statehouse. Wednesday was also the deadline for the Senate to attempt an override of Senate Bill 1657.
Speaking to the I-GOLD crowd outside the capitol, state Rep. Margo McDermed, R-Mokena, said such a show of support is important.
“We need everyone here in Springfield to know that when we are taking these positions it’s because there are so many people behind us demanding that we take those positions,” McDermed said.
Other legislators also spoke to thank the crowd and to address various gun-rights issues.
Libertarian candidate for governor Kash Jackson also spoke. He said he learned something in his 20-years of service in the military.
“The greatest threat to our constitution and to our freedoms does not lie on a foreign shore,” Jackson said. “The greatest threat to our freedoms lies in the pen of a legislator in that building right back there.”
No other gubernatorial candidates spoke at the rally outside the capitol.
While Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, says he doesn’t have a social agenda, he has said he's a member of the National Rifle Association. Rauner recently vetoed the measure to require Illinois gun dealers to register with the state in addition to having to register with the federal government. He said the measure is too onerous for small businesses; big-box retailers were exempt.
With Wednesday's deadline and afternoon committees scheduled, Senate Bill 1657 sponsor, state Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said in an online post Wednesday evening "I made the difficult decision not to ask the Senate to override Gov. Rauner’s veto of the gun dealer licensing bill."
The governor said the work to find "real solutions" would continue. 
"We need to focus on illegal gun trafficking, school safety, how to best keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill," Rauner said in a statement. "These are bipartisan issues that we are working on collaboratively in our Public Safety Working Group to drive real solutions. We will keep working to keep our families safe."
Harmon said he plans to reintroduce his bill as an amendment to Senate Bill 337.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker said he would sign it.
"It is unacceptable to play politics with the lives of our families and we must address this public health epidemic immediately," Pritzker said in a statement after Harmon's announcement.
Aurora resident Stewart Lewis drove to Springfield for the Wednesday's I-GOLD rally. He said calling semi-automatic rifles "assault weapons" is ignorant.
“Go out and get educated on what a real machine gun is,” said Lewis, a Navy veteran. “Vets will tell you what a real machine gun is, not these modern sporting rifles we have, these AR-15s. What we’re carrying in these streets and what we own and what we possess and what we can buy for 500 bucks is not the same thing by a stretch.”
He said he feels misrepresented by his legislators.
“Start thinking about the majority, which is the law abiding citizens,” Lewis said. “The minority are the criminals, so start doing something to them. Hold them accountable. Stop throwing every mass shooting or every mass murder or whatever at the law abiding gun owners feet.”
Lewis said he plans to hold his legislators accountable for their votes on gun issues.
Rockford resident Dorothy Kazuk also traveled to Springfield to lobby her lawmakers for gun rights. She opposes laws she said infringe on gun owners rights, even those who are under 21.
“If an 18-year-old can serve this country, he or she can own a rifle, even an AK-47, an AR-15,” Kazuk said.
She said legislation targeting law abiding gun owners is "pretty sad."
"We elect our legislator to protect our freedoms and our rights and they're just doing the exact opposite," she said. "So we're going to remember in November."