Chicago legislators once again are trying to rule over gun owners statewide. The outrageous "Assault Weapons Ban" is back via State Rep. Eddie Acevedo who represents District 2 in Chicago. HB1294 is a repeat effort to ban just about every sporting and self-defense gun owned in Illinois, along with magazines holding more than 10 rounds, unless of course you still have the receipt from when you bought the gun or magazine some 15-20-30 years ago. This is another attempt by Chicago and Cook County to prevent law-abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights.
Along with HB1294, Acevedo also introduced HB1599, increasing the penalty of being in possession of high capacity ammunition when committing an offense - what's that you say? What's high capacity ammunition? Apparently it is anything 50 caliber or larger but no distinction is made between pistol, rifle, or shotgun ammo. All shotgun ammo over .410 would be banned.
Acevedo's trio of atrocities against gun owners includes HB1855 which would penalize the victims of gun theft by barring them from owning firearms permanently if they didn't report a theft within 72 hours of knowing about it - but who is to determine when someone knew or should have known about a theft? There in lies the danger.
Call your State Representative TODAY! Tell him/her to vote NO on HB1294, HB1599, and HB1855.
To find your district or state representative, go to the Illinois State Board of Elections
• A major triumph – IllinoisCarry, the ISRA, and NRA joined forces to produce an all new Right to Carry bill for Illinois. This bill was voted on in the House on May 5, 2011, the first such vote in decades! In a near triumph, we fell just 6 votes short of the needed super-majority of 72! The narrow miss can be blamed directly on Gov. Quinn and the city of Chicago who pulled out all the stops in the final days before the vote to campaign against the measure. The bill, HB148, was put on postponed consideration and can be recalled for another vote between now and Jan. 2013. All supporters are working tirelessly to secure the needed handful of votes.
• A major triumph - the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Ezell vs Chicago. The court ruled the Second Amendment must be given the same measure of respect as the First Amendment, accused Chicago of thumbing its nose at the U.S. Supreme Court, and basically instructed the city to get their act together in regards to the individual right to keep and bear arms.
• A major triumph - the barrier against Right to Carry is beginning to crack in the city of Chicago and Cook County. Elected officials are actually beginning to consider Right to Carry and are even hosting their own town hall meetings on the issue. This is new ground and could be just the break we need to garner the support needed to pass HB148. We feel this movement is due in large part to a group of dedicated IllinoisCarry, Second Amendment Sisters, ISRA and NRA members in Chicago’s black community. They have worked very hard on this issue holding several town hall meetings comprised of local Chicago folks. Our hats are off to these fine folks for their hard work and determination.
• A major triumph, two lawsuits were filed challenging the ban on the Right to Carry for personal protection. IllinoisCarry is honored to be a plaintiff in the Second Amendment Foundation’s lawsuit Moore vs Madigan and the ISRA is spearheading a lawsuit with our feisty friend Mary Shepard. A favorable ruling from either of the court cases could expedite Right to Carry in Illinois.
• IllinoisCarry spokesperson, Valinda Rowe, was awarded the prestigious Grass Roots Activist of the Year by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. This national recognition reflects the diligence and commitment to excellence our organization has come to represent.
• We have held many, many town hall meetings from one end of the state to the other, printed mountains of fliers, and marched in parades. We have helped turn Right to Carry into a topic of conversation all over the state. We have seen legislators, who once laughed at the notion of Right to Carry, attending these meetings and even conducting their own town hall meetings to discuss the issue.
• IllinoisCarry members have been regular contributors to newspaper, radio and TV programs all over the state, but most importantly inside the city of Chicago. They have testified in committees, met with legislators, marched on the capitol, gone to court, raised funds, produced videos and a host of other activities. All this from a grassroots, all volunteer organization that owns no equipment or property!
• IllinoisCarry membership has grown tremendously in this past year, over 600 new members were added to our roster. That’s 600 more voices dedicated to being heard, and hopefully 600 more members to add to the nearly 7,000 who will attend IGOLD on Mar. 7, 2012. Our Illinois-specific web site is heavily trafficked by thousands of the most dedicated and involved members and elected officials in the state. This is the result of a lot of people doing a lot of work and doing it right!
• We are ready to start our Winter Tour 2012 of Town Hall Meetings in an effort to gain the handful of votes we need to pass Right to Carry. We don’t need all the legislators to vote for the bill, just enough of them.
There was a time when talking to legislators about right to carry they would laugh at us…WELL, THEY AREN’T LAUGHING NOW – now they are asking “How can I help”?!
Join us at IllinoisCarry.com and find out how you can help win back our Right to Keep and Bear Arms!!
A very special thank you to Barry Bourdage and the folks at Techpro for hosting the IllinoisCarry website.
Despite the usual anti-gun rhetoric, despite the same old hysterics about blood in the streets, and despite the outright lies about concealed carry license holders, real common sense prevailed and H.R. 822, the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act, passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives today with a vote of 272-154 . The measure simply requires states to honor Right to Carry licenses from other states, just as driver's licenses are recognized.
Unfortunately, an amendment which would have extended the Right to Carry in Illinois to IL residents who have out of state licenses failed to make it out of committee and was not included in the final passage of the bill.
H.R. 822 now moves to the U.S. Senate where it faces a tougher challenge.
With Wisconsin's new concealed carry law going into effect Nov. 1, leaving Illinois the last and only state without such a law, the issue of Right to Carry has been brought into focus like never before. Law abiding citizens are now demanding to know why they should be denied their right to personal protection simply because they live in Illinois.
(Image of Sunrise in Chicago was authored by Daniel Schwen, who made it available via Wikimedia Commons. No endorsement of Illinois Carry is implied.)
Second Amendment Foundation's Gun Rights Activist of the Year!
*****Last weekend, a few hundred hard-core civil rights activists gathered in Chicago for the Gun Rights Policy Conference to spend two days listening to grassroots activists and organizers, authors, scholars, lawyers, politicians and others speak about the state of "gun rights" in these United States. The authors talked about books, the lawyers talked about cases before the courts, and the activists, including Illinois Carry's own Spokesperson Valinda Rowe, spoke about activism . . . but first, the SAF had something to say about her: Valinda has been selected as the SAF's Second Amendment Activist of the Year.
The choice is an apt one; without Valinda Rowe and her steadfast husband, Mike, Illinois Carry would likely be unrecognizable. The SAF cited accomplishments like IGOLD, Right-to-Carry town hall meetings in Chicago and across Illinois, and the key role Valinda has played in recruiting plaintiffs who've made history in courtrooms from Springfield to Chicago to Washington, D.C.
Congratulations, Valinda Rowe, from all of us at Illinois Carry!
Words by Don Gwinn . . . Photograph by Chris Conmy.
IllinoisCarry would like to take this time to honor those brave souls who rushed to the rescue on 9/11, the passengers on Flight 93 who gave their lives for others, the innocent victims who were killed, and to those who survived -
David Lawson's name may be familiar; David and his wife, Colleen, along with Adam Orlov and Otis MacDonald, defeated the city of Chicago and overturned its ban on handgun ownership in 2010's MacDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court decision. But it wasn't long after that landmark that the city began denying Lawson's registrations again. The Chicago Police Department even told Lawson that four SKS rifles were ineligible for registration in the city because they violated the city's "assault weapons" ban with features like removable magazines. Lawson pointed out that his rifles had fixed magazines . . . and was told that they could be modified, therefore probably would be modified into "assault weapons" at some future time, so they would simply refuse to register them at present. Lawson retained attorney Joel Brodsky and took the city to court. With the help of expert witness Andre Queen of Illinois Carry and Fidelity Investigative Training Academy, he showed that his rifles do not violate even Chicago's "assault weapons ban," but it wasn't easy. First, Lawson had to win the fight for a court order to be allowed to bring the rifles into court as evidence at all. Then Queen had to do what the city's "expert" police officers refused to do--touch the rifles and give evidence for his testimony. But in the end it's Lawson 2, Chicago 0, and if you're wondering whether your fixed-magazine SKS can be owned legally in Chicago as long as you jump through all the hoops, the answer is now "yes, even if your name is David Lawson."
Illinois Carry sends congratulations today to Wisconsin gun owners. In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker today signed SB 93, which established Wiconsin as the nation's 41st shall-issue right-to-carry state. In November, when the bill takes effect, only eight states will be left clinging to "may-issue" permit systems which allow law enforcement officials to apply the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms selectively--and Illinois will be left alone in its own dark corner, the last remaining state in the union with no provision for legal carry of defensive weapons for its citizens.
Plaintiffs in Moore v. Illinois, including Illinois Carry, hope that the same straightforward logic will be applied to Illinois' ban on right to carry. The Second Amendment Foundation reported:
“Now that the Seventh Circuit has recognized that the deprivation of the right of armed self-defense is an inherently irreparable injury, it is clear that Illinois’ law-abiding gun owners are entitled to a protective injunction,” said attorney David Jensen of New York, who, along with Glen Ellyn, IL attorney David Sigale, is representing SAF and the other plaintiffs.
“Yesterday’s win was a wake-up call to Chicago,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “Today’s motion is a signal to the Illinois Legislature that the state’s total ban on carrying of firearms for personal protection is counter to both Supreme Court rulings on the Second Amendment, and yesterday’s ruling by the Seventh Circuit appeals panel that shredded Chicago’s gun ordinance. Our victory Wednesday and today’s motion are key components of SAF’s overall mission to win back firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time.”
After the McDonald v. Chicago decision made it clear that Chicago's ban on handguns could not stand, the city under Mayor Daley responded with a new set of regulations that technically allow citizens to own handguns . . . but require onerous registration, paperwork, costs and fees, training and range time--but also prohibit the operation of ranges open to the public in Chicago. Chicago residents Rhonda Ezell, Joseph Brown and William Hespen joined the Second Amendment Foundation and the IL State Rifle Association, bringing Ezell v. Chicago to force Chicago's mayor and city council to allow the operation of safe, legal firing ranges where Chicago citizens can practice, plink and train.
Yesterday, Chicago's new mayor, Rahm Emmanuel, reversed Mayor Daley's course and bowed to reality; with the 7th Circuit ready to rule against Chicago any day, he pushed an ordinance through the city council to allow firing ranges in Chicago. However, critics note that Emmanuel's ordinance limits ranges to manufacturing zones and prohibits ranges within 1000 feet of any residential zone, as well as "any school, day-care facility, park, place of worship, any premises licensed for the retail sale of liquor, children's activities facility, library, museum or hospital." The ordinance also flatly prohibits outdoor and mobile ranges, bars ranges from allowing anyone under 18 to enter for any reason, and requires ranges to maintain outdoor and indoor video surveillance systems, and "Recordings from the surveillance camera required by clause(ii)shall be maintained for not less than 30 days and shall be made available to members of the department of police."
Today, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling in Ezell v. Chicago and, unsurprisingly, gave the city a swift kick:
We reverse. The court’s decision turned on several legal errors. To be fair, the standards for evaluating Second Amendment claims are just emerging, and this type of litigation is quite new. Still, the judge’s decision reflects misunderstandings about the nature of the plaintiffs’ harm, the structure of this kind of constitutional claim, and the proper decision method for evaluating alleged infringements of Second Amendment rights. On the present record, the plaintiffs are entitled to a preliminary injunction against the firing‐range ban. The harm to their Second Amendment rights cannot be remedied by damages, their challenge has a strong likelihood of success on the merits, and the City’s claimed harm to the public interest is based entirely on speculation.
So, has Mayor Emmanuel successfully sidestepped the 7th Court's decision by passing his backpedaling ordinance the day before their ruling against him was issued? Time will tell, but if the goal was to get out of court and avoid fighting a loser of a case, Emmanuel's ordinance may not go far enough. What do you think?
Illinois Carry is honored to join the Second Amendment Foundation’s (SAF) lawsuit against the offices of the Illinois Attorney General and Director of Illinois State Police.
Illinois Carry has always maintained that to restore and maintain our Second Amendment rights efforts must include advancing the cause through legislative, electoral, and judicial means. Illinois Carry is pleased to join in the judicial process.
Illinois Carry welcomes the SAF lawsuit along with another suit filed by the Illinois State Rifle Association on behalf of Mary Shepard, a concealed carry license holder who was the victim of a violent assault. (Mary holds licenses from two states and has completed five training courses, but is of course legally denied the right to carry her firearm for self-defense in Illinois.)
Our hope is that together these cases will send a strong message to elected officials in Springfield, Cook County and Chicago that if they refuse to restore our rights through the legislative process, we will petition the courts for those rights.
Our thanks to Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation and Todd Vandermyde of the National Rifle Association for their tireless efforts to restore the Second Amendment to the good people of Illinois.
Ready to join the conversation about your rights in Illinois? Both Illinois right-to-carry lawsuits are under discussion in their own Illinois Carry forum threads:
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., May 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):
Illinois gun control advocates and their allies in the General Assembly delivered a "triple-whammy" against public safety recently when they sabotaged passage of HB148.
Under the provisions of HB148, well-trained, well-qualified Illinois citizens would be permitted to carry defensive firearms to protect themselves and their families from violent criminals. At the same time, HB148 would have provided upwards of $40 million in permit fees to the Illinois State Police to pay for upgrades to the state's antiquated gun buyer background check system.
But, thanks to the short-sighted efforts of the gun control movement and its friends in the Illinois House, tens of thousands of law-abiding Illinois citizens will continue to suffer at the hands of murderers, robbers and rapists because they cannot lawfully defend themselves. Likewise, the gun control movement can take credit for saddling the state police with a background check system based on software developed in 1959.
Rounding out the triple whammy-against the citizens of Illinois is the fact that the actions of gun control advocates are to blame for a pair of lawsuits filed this week in federal court against the State of Illinois. Both lawsuits – one filed by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), the other filed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the ISRA – contend that the state is damaging law-abiding citizens by prohibiting the carrying of defensive firearms.
In a nut shell, the gun control movement's efforts the kill HB148 have ensured that Illinois remains one of the most dangerous places to live in the United States. In addition to causing the loss of $40 million for better background checks, the gun control movement is now responsible for Illinois having to shell out millions in taxpayer dollars to pay legal bills related to the SAF and NRA/ISRA lawsuits. Once again, the extremist views of the gun control movement are costing the good people of Illinois dearly.
"The ISRA is very excited about being a plaintiff in the NRA/ISRA lawsuit," commented ISRA Executive Director, Richard Pearson. "This lawsuit defines the cutting edge of one of the most important questions of the day. That is, does the state have the right to decide who is worth defending and who is not?"
"The fact that two lawsuits have been filed against the State of Illinois this week is proof-positive that this issue is not going to go away," continued Pearson. "The behind the scenes political gamesmanship that resulted in the scuttling of HB148 has not diminished the resolve of the good people of Illinois. Whether it is in the courts, in the legislature, or at the ballot box, we will relentlessly push forward until the citizen's right to self defense is restored in Illinois."
The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. For more than a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of millions of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.
3/14/2011 Valinda Rowe, well known Second Amendment activist, testified at a recent Illinois House committee hearing for House Bill 148, a bill which creates a legal provision for the carrying of a firearm for personal protection. If passed, it would bring Illinois in line with 49 other states which already have some form of carry law in effect. HB 148 is sponsored by Representative Brandon Phelps, Harrisburg Democrat representing the 118 District.
Ms. Rowe testified on behalf of Mary Shepard, a Union County woman who was severely injured when a recently paroled felon attacked her and a co-worker in an Anna, IL church. Ms. Shepard, 71, and her co-worker, an 84 year old woman, were assaulted, beaten, kicked by the man who was a 6 foot 3, 245 lb. man. After beating the two women, he stomped them in the head, neck, and face then left them for dead in the church.
Ms. Rowe relayed to the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee Mary’s belief that the incident did not have to happen to the two women. Prior to the attack, Ms. Shepard had successfully completed five different firearm training courses including Personal Protection Outside the Home. She had also qualified for and had been issued two separate licenses to carry a firearm and those licenses are honored in over 31 states. However, carrying a loaded firearm by a citizen is considered a felony in the state of Illinois when not on one’s own property. Ms. Shepard’s urged the committee to pass the Right to Carry bill out of committee and on to floor of the House for a fair debate and vote.
Right to carry legislation has been introduced before in the Illinois General Assembly with little movement or hope of having enough votes to pass but this time around the measure is gaining some very surprising support. In recent years the Illinois State Sheriff’s Association, after long standing opposition, has moved to support the issue. The Illinois Chiefs of Police past president, Eric Smith, testified the association of chiefs, after years of opposing right to carry legislation, have now moved to a position of neutral and went on to say their legislative committee will be taking a closer look at the exact language of the bill and he fully expects the association to move to support HB148 at that time. A surprise witness in support of the bill was the representative of the Chicago Police Department Sergeants Union. It has long been held that the City of Chicago opposes any right to carry bill. It is highly irregular for a law enforcement group in Chicago to choose to go against the position held by the city and proponents of the bill say this is indicative of a shift toward moving the legislation forward.
Also testifying in support of the bill were Otis McDonald and Colleen Lawson, successful plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case against the Chicago handgun ban; Madison County State's Attorney Thomas D. Gibbons, National Rifle Association lobbyist Todd Vandermyde, Tazewell and Fulton County sheriffs.
Among those testifying in opposition to the bill was Mark Walsh, campaign director for the Illinois Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Chicago police Deputy Superintendent Steve Peterson.
HB148 passed the committee 12-2. Reps. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, and Kelly Burke, D-Evergreen Park, were the only dissenting votes.
Mark your calendars! Schedule the day off from work!
You won't want to miss the largest turn out of Second Amendment supporters Illinois has ever seen!
IGOLD - Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day
Thurday March 10, 2011
Prairie Capitol Convention Center, Springfield, IL
10:30 a.m. Doors open at Prairie Capitol Convention Center (concessions available)
11:45 a.m. Registration/Rally, Prairie Capitol Convention Ctr, 1 Convention Center Plaza
1:00 p.m. March to the State Capitol to lobby legislators
4:00 p.m. Return to PCCC for wrap up
5:00 p.m. Buses depart for home (due to the later hour of the reception buses will not be staying)
6-8:00 p.m Reception with Legislators, State House Inn, 101 East Adams Street, Springfield, IL
Watch for details as they develop at IGOLD.isra.org. and reserve a seat on one of the many charter buses headed to Springfield.
"It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." --Samuel Adams
Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day Thurs. March 10, 2011
Right to Carry in Illinois Looks More Promising Than Ever!
This week members of the brand new 97th General Assembly will convene in the State Capitol in Springfield. New legislators will be bringing with them added support for a Right to Carry law and plan to join the ranks of veteran legislators who have long supported Illinois joining the rest of the nation in becoming a "Carry State".
Also in our favor - two U.S. Supreme Court rulings, support from the Illinois Sheriff's Association, 48 states which have Right to Carry concealed laws, Wisconsin which has the Right to Carry openly and soon to have a concealed carry law - leaving Illinois as the last and only state to completely deny the right to carry. All these factors added to the increase in support by new legislators is very encouraging. IllinoisCarry expects to see major movement in a Right to Carry law this session.
It is our time!!!!!
Right to Carry bills HB148 and SB82 have already been introduced!
Now more than ever we need Illinois gun owners and Second Amendment supporters to get involved in the legislative process.
Watch every move the bills make at IllinoisCarry.com Monitor the hearings and debates live as they happen Know exactly when your support is needed to: 1. Call/email/visit your legislators, 2. Make phone calls to committee members 3. Attend committee hearings 4. Recruit the help and support of all your friends.
Mark your calendars! Schedule the day off from work!
You won't want to miss the largest turn out of Second Amendment supporters Illinois has ever seen!
IGOLD - Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day
Thurday March 10, 2011 Prairie Capitol Convention Center, Springfield, IL
10:30 a.m. Doors open at Prairie Capitol Convention Center (concessions available) 11:45 a.m. Registration/Rally, Prairie Capitol Convention Ctr, 1 Convention Center Plaza 1:00 p.m. March to the State Capitol to lobby legislators 4:00 p.m. Return to PCCC for wrap up 5:00 p.m. Buses depart for home (due to the later hour of the reception buses will not be staying) 6-8:00 p.m Reception with Legislators, State House Inn, 101 East Adams Street, Springfield, IL
Watch for details as they develop at IGOLD.isra.org. and reserve a seat on one of the many charter buses headed to Springfield.
(KMOV) – Residents in one East St. Louis community are buying guns after dozens of home burglaries and car thefts, claiming police have been too slow to respond. They say there have been at least 75 incidents in the last two months. When asked about these crimes, police said they could not verify the high number of incidents residents cited because of a computer glitch. Residents say one of the problems that make it easier for thieves is that it’s too dark in their neighborhood. They say thieves are using a large field as a way to escape. One resident says in one year, neighbors called 12 times and police responded only twice. Even the head of the neighborhood watch agrees. Rowena Howard says in the past two months, there have been 75 car break-ins around her block. She says sometimes police respond, sometimes they don’t. Now Howard and her neighbors are looking to weapons for protection. Mayor Alvin Parks says the city is investigating the complaints from residents and they have a plan to curb crime in that area. He says police will step up patrols in that neighborhood starting Thursday night.
Supporters of the Second Amendment battle to defeat the Chicago handgun ban know and revere Mr. Otis McDonald, the lead plaintiff in the landmark case which is bringing about change in gun laws all across the nation.
What many may not know is that this quiet, unassuming gentleman is a stalwart Democrat who has turned to Bill Brady, the Republican candidate for Illinois governor, in order to preserve and protect what he and the other three plaintiffs in the case fought so hard to win.
When incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn pushed for a ban on all semi-automatic rifles, shotguns, and handguns and proudly announced he would ban any concealed carry bill that made it to his desk, Mr. McDonald knew he needed to do something to protect the rights he and the other plaintiffs had fought so hard to regain. He decided to publicly endorse Sen. Brady for governor.
Mr. McDonald says he believes Sen. Bill Brady will stand behind his pledge to preserve and protect the Second Amendment.
Sen. Bill Brady has long been a friend to Illinois gun owners, speaking often at Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day. When hundreds of women gathered at the Governor's office to demand their right to protect themselves it was Bill Brady who met with them because Pat Quinn wouldn't even come to the door. Sen. Brady has said he will not only sign a Right to Carry bill but will work hard to make it happen.
"We need to elect Bill Brady as Governor to hold back attacks on our rights at the state level - and we need Bill Brady to be ready to push for state-level guarantees of our rights if the precarious balance of the Supreme Court should tip. Bill Brady has always stood up for the rights of gun owners and hunters. . . .
Bill Brady consistently earned an "A" NRA-rating as a member of the Illinois Senate. Gov. Pat Quinn is rated "F" due to his opposition to Second Amendment rights. Quinn publicly endorsed passage of a ban on semi-automatic firearms, publicly opposed Right to Carry in Illinois, is endorsed by leading gun ban groups, and refused to answer the NRA 2010 candidate questionnaire. . . . You can contact the campaign by calling 312-846-1649 or by visiting www.BradyForIllinois.com." Chris Cox, Ex. Dir., NRA-ILA
CHICAGO, Aug. 10/2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the ISRA Political Victory Fund (ISRA-PVF):
Law-abiding Illinois firearm owners are under a renewed attack by Gov. Pat Quinn's re-election campaign. After receiving the endorsement of a radical gun control group last week, Quinn's campaign is now the apparent mastermind of a plan to place a referendum on the November ballot that would call for the banning of a wide variety of popular hunting and target firearms.
Petition documents filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections show the title of the proposed referendum as being "Petition to Ban the Sale on Semi-Automatic and Assault Weapons." Notarized signatures on over 100 pages of petitions show one "Maz Jackson" as being the petition circulator. Maz Jackson is a top field operative for the Quinn gubernatorial re-election campaign.
"It appears that Pat Quinn plans to attack hunters and sportsmen from every angle," commented ISRA-PVF spokesman, Richard Pearson. "First he throws in with the likes of gun control extremists Jim and Sarah Brady, and now his campaign staff is circulating petitions seeking to ban most of the privately owned firearms in the state. Once again, Pat Quinn has shown himself to be more in step with Mayor Daley and the Chicago power structure than he is with the vast majority of Illinois citizens."
The ISRA-PVF is a political action committee affiliated with the Illinois State Rifle Association. Donations to the ISRA-PVF are not tax deductible. A copy of our report is available for a fee from the Illinois State Board of Elections, Springfield, IL
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Chicago Handgun Ban Unconstitutional! The U.S. Supreme Court announced its 5-4 decision today overturning the decades old Chicago ban on handguns! Following on the heels of the Heller vs DC decision two years ago which ruled DC's ban unconstitutional, the landmark case of McDonald vs Chicago finally brings the Second Amendment guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms to the states.
This decision is a huge win for the entire nation but especially for Chicago residents who have for decades been denied the right to possess a handgun in their home. Increasing opposition to the ban has been fueled by residents of the city demanding the right to protect themselves from the horrendous number of violent crimes in their neighborhoods.
The ruling is also a tremendous win for Illinois citizens whose state constitution holds that the right to keep and bear arms is "subject to police power". The Court ruled the 14th Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment to the states meaning " . . . the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" is a right protected even from local and state governments. While this decision does not immediately change state law it does throw open the door to re-examination of current law and a whole new era of defining the words "shall not be infringed".
What does it all mean in our efforts to see a Right to Carry law passed in Illinois? It means a great deal in the IL General Assembly where some fence-sitters on the issue have been waiting to see "if" the Second Amendment truly does apply to the states. It will almost assuredly add votes to our side of the tally board and will make it increasingly more difficult to pass new laws restricting the right of a law abiding citizen's to keep and bear arms.
Mayor Daley has vowed, regardless of the Supreme Court decision, to continue do everything he can to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of the people of Chicago - but he can't do it alone - he must have the votes of the aldermen on the city council. If you are a resident of Chicago, contact your alderman TODAY and demand they support your constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Demand they put an end to Mayor Daley's fanatical attack on their right to protect themselves and their families.
This is a great day in the history of this nation, the state of Illinois, and for the people of Chicago!! IllinoisCarry extends our heartfelt gratitude and respect to the courageous plaintiffs who stood before the courts on behalf of all Americans - Adam Orlov, David and Colleen Lawson, and lead plaintiff Otis McDonald. Thank you to the Illinois State Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, lead attorney Alan Gura, and Chicago attorney David Sigale for making it happen!
A copy of the ruling can be downloaded at SCOTUSblog.com.
posted 5/30/2010 Mayor Daley doesn't get it about firearms and personal safety. After the highly publicized self-defense shooting in East Garfield Park on the West Side on Wednesday, he should fold his tent, shut his mouth and go away.
The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to nullify Chicago's draconian handgun ban, and nothing clarifies Daley's dilemma with guns more dramatically than the slaying of home invader Anthony "Big Ant" Nelson, a 29-year-old career thug who has, according to the Chicago Tribune, a "13-page rap sheet that includes a number of drug and weapons convictions dating to 1998, according to police and court records." This neighborhood predator made what nationally recognized self-defense expert Massad Ayoob calls "a fatal error in the victim selection process."
Nelson reportedly fired a shot from a handgun -- you know, they're banned in Chicago, and convicted felons like "Big Ant" aren't supposed to have them anyway; yet another failure of gun control -- through the bedroom window of an 80-year-old Army veteran who served in the Korean War.
Most likely to Nelson's great, and terminal, surprise, the older man fired back, with his own handgun that almost certainly was not registered in the city. Had he followed the law, this gentleman, his wife, and possibly their 12-year-old grandson, who was in the next room, might all be dead right now.
Fortunately, thanks to the Illinois Legislature's override of Rod Blagojevich's veto of SB 2165 in November 2004, the older gentleman will not face prosecution. That was the "Hale DeMar" act, which protects homeowners who shoot in self-defense even if there is a local ordinance against handgun possession.
DeMar shot a burglar in his Wilmette home and was initially charged with violating that community's handgun ban, but public outrage forced the Cook County prosecutor to drop the charge.
The question remains in this case whether the old gentleman will get his gun back from the police when the investigation is completed.
Daley wants his citizens, including elderly people, to remain disarmed while only someone living in monumental denial would believe that creeps like Nelson might be deterred from packing guns illegally.
Daley has practiced anti-gun demagoguery for years, but that may soon come to a screeching halt, not only because of an affirmative high court ruling in the case of McDonald vs. City of Chicago -- the Second Amendment Foundation's case before the U.S. Supreme Court -- but also because public reaction to the Nelson shooting is decidedly in support of the man who shot him.
Chicago residents have grown weary of living in dangerous neighborhoods where, because of Daley's anti-gun policies that defend the city's ban, they have been stripped of the tools to fight back. It is their plight against armed criminals like Nelson that compelled the Second Amendment Foundation to join with the Illinois State Rifle Association and four Chicago residents to sue the city.
Reaction among Chicago residents to Wednesday's fatal shooting clearly demonstrates that the public supports this lawsuit.
While Daley appears at a press event and suggests he might like to poke a gun barrel into the rump of a reporter and fire a round, neighbors of the Army veteran who killed Nelson in self-defense, along with Chicago Sun-Times columnist Stella Foster, are telling the mayor that he needs to "come up with a better solution [to crime] than just saying 'turn in your guns.' "
Daley's stubborn defense of his city's handgun ban shows him to be so out of touch with the public, and with the reality of his city's crime problem, that he may not even be jolted to good sense by a Supreme Court loss.
Well, here is the reality: Richard Daley's policies are directly responsible for people like Nelson, because the Chicago gun ban has emboldened Windy City thugs to prey on good people they know will be disarmed. Tough luck for Nelson that one courageous older man -- a man who had been robbed at gunpoint last year in his own home for $150 -- had the fortitude and good sense to arm himself in spite of Daley's ban, and now his neighborhood is "one short" of the kind of scum that the Chicago ban has essentially protected for more than a quarter-century.
Alan Gottlieb is executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation. Dave Workman is senior editor of Gun Week. They are co-authors of 'America Fights Back: Armed Self-Defense in a Violent Age.'
Thank YOU Ms. Lawson One of the best e-mails we've ever received:
* Hi, SCC. My name is Colleen Lawson, and I am one of the plaintiffs in McDonald v Chicago.
I'm writing you to share an incident that occurred yesterday, and in hope that you might allow me to publicly thank and acknowledge those involved.
Yesterday, two Chicago cops pulled up next to me while I was parked at a gas station. I was standing by my car. They got out of their squad car, walked up to me, and thanked me.
I would like those officers to know that their words, and their handshakes, mean more to me than anyone else's have.
I was deeply, deeply touched by the fact that these officers, who place their lives on the line every day for citizens like me and my fellow plaintiffs and every single Chicagoan and visitor, these officers who never can be quite sure where they'll be at the end of the day ... that they had come over to speak to me, and to voice their support.
I apologize for my quick exit -- I was kind of stunned as they continued speaking and probably just mumbled my thanks back to them, then got back into my car and just cried as I drove home. I completely forgot to go into the store and make my purchases; but then, no one has ever flustered me to that extent before.
Truly. Not high-up, celebrity, mucky-muck or thug. Yesterday's cops trump them all, and that one moment with them is my highest treasure.
I am humbled and intensely grateful. You, all of you, have my thanks.
* It's just occurred to me that this is the only letter i've written publicly since this case began. That's how honored I feel by the words of your officers :)
Well, for our part, we'd just like to add our thanks to those of our fellow officers. Standing up for your fellow citizens and saying, "Enough!" may not seem like a big deal, but in some countries around the world, it lands you a term in prison, a session with the torturers or even death. Inaction is one of the worst sins any civilized society can commit because it makes it that much easier for the next bad act to occur. It is our hope that by your action, you have inspired countless others to step up when necessary.
We and literally million of others are in your debt.
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