Jackson: Newtown Shooting 'Illuminated the Darkness'

" The Rev. Jesse Jackson said last Friday's shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut has "illuminated the darkness."

His remarks at a Monday evening prayer and policy discussion came as a chorus of Illinois leaders called for new restrictions on semi-automatic weapons at a time when the state is being forced to again deal with the issue of concealed carry.

Jackson, of course, is no stranger to gun violence. He witnessed firsthand the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis in 1968. More than 40 years later, he's still hoping for gun reform.

"We left the back of the bus not when the law changed, but when we changed our minds. Our minds changed, and the culture changed," he said.

Earlier Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Dick Durbin separately called for bans on semi-automatic weapons.

"As somebody who stood by President Clinton as he signed and made sure that we had a ban on assault weapons, I do not want to see more weapons on the street, more guns on the street," Emanuel told a class of graduating Chicago police recruits on Monday "

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