Their claims may be factless and sensationalized, but they are effective for pushing gun control. 

Via Ammoland: 

“It is clear that we must crack down on deadly, military-style assault rifles, which is why I voted to pass Senate Bill 1657, which holds gun dealers accountable by ensuring dangerous criminals and those with a history of mental illness or domestic violence cannot get their hands on a weapon,” Illinois State Representative Fred Crespo claimed in a letter to constituents. “I also support House Bill 1469, which would prohibit the sale and possession of high capacity magazines which turn regular firearms into fully automatic weapons.”

First, gun dealers in Illinois don’t sell anything without controls mandated by the feds and the state, and “prohibited persons” are called that for a reason. If citizen disarmament edicts really meant such people “cannot get their hands on a weapon,” we’d expect to see results vastly different from reality, not that the political trough-feeders don’t use still unacceptable reductions as an excuse to brag about what a bang-up job they’re doing.

Second, really? Magazines can convert a gun to full-auto?  This is one of the guys responsible for crafting “commonsense gun laws”?

Read more here.