We’ve discussed in this space the recent passage of shall-issue concealed carry in the last holdout state, Illinois. Alas, the victory is not yet locked in stone.
There is some good news, as seen here: http://personalliberty.com/2013/06/24/chicagoland-mayor-ditches-bloombergs-gun-control-embraces-concealed-carry/ Thanks to the multiple blog readers who sent it along. J
But the “antis” don’t give up easily, and some are trying to pass various bans at the municipal level.
The last time Significant Other and I went over the Mississippi River going from Illinois into Missouri, she dug out her Glock and strapped it on as soon as we reached the free side. We couldn’t help but notice that when Huckleberry Finn and Jim crossed the same river to get to freedom, they were going the other way.

1 COMMENT

  1. I can understand that Mas; I do the same thing every time I cross the Califonia line back into Nevada……….

  2. Except for the four years I was in the Navy, I’ve lived in the Free State of Missouri. Crossing the Mississippi River into the Land of Lincoln is like entering a Foreign Country (something I did many times in the Navy). It has gotten so bad with the anti-gun sentiment, that I don’t enjoy going there anymore. Everywhere but Chicago is just like Missouri and they can’t get the Chicago out of Illinois. I feel sorry for them.

  4. Apparently the United States Declaration of Independence isn’t good enough for Moms Demand Action. They’ve come up with their own version to “declare our independence from the gun lobby and its complicity in our nation’s epidemic of gun violence.” They don’t say anything about their complicity in attempting to violate every American’s Constitutional rights. They’re urging everyone to make paper flags, join community parades and otherwise participate in the activities on the 4th of July that celebrate the very freedoms they’re trying to take away (oh, and please send them some money while you’re at it). They don’t seem to remember that guns are why we have the freedom to celebrate that holiday. Go figure. And a few days after that . . .

    “Local faith communities [will] host a Toy Gun Exchange Day in response to the ever pervasive culture of violence in the St. Louis Region and across the United States.” Hot on the heels of the toy gun trade-in recently held in California, the Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in the Gateway City wants to “change the way kids engage in dramatic play by replacing violent toys and video games with non-violent ones.” They’re looking for volunteers to help out with this indoctrination if any of you in the St. Louis area have any spare time on Saturday, July 13.

    Retired Miami-Dade (Florida) school teacher David Kotkin won’t earn any points with those few moms who are demanding all that action or the Reverend at the WTMBC in the STL. He’s developed the Delta Six, a gaming gun modeled after a GSG assault rifle. It takes video game realism to a new level: the gun moves the game view with the direction of its muzzle, zooms in when a gamer peeks in the scope and recoils with the fire of each bullet. To bludgeon an enemy, a gamer sideswipes the rifle’s butt. Of course the antis are having a royal cow over it. Per the Miami Herald: “‘This is so over the top, so extreme, you’ll probably see legislation at the state or federal level to outlaw this kind of thing for sale to civilians,’ said Jack Thompson, a disbarred Coral Gables attorney who is among the country’s foremost critics of violent video games.”

    South Fork Industries, based in Dalton Gardens, Idaho, has come out with a line of pork-laced bullets. They claim the Jihawg Ammo is a “defensive deterrent to those who violently act in the name of Islam.” The bullets are coated in pork-laced paint which make it “haram” for Muslims. They claim this “will keep a Muslim who’s shot with one of the bullets from entering paradise.” Not so, says religious professor Shannon Dunn. “There is no penalty for coming into contact with pork given by the Quran… Muslims, especially unknowingly, would not be banned from heaven for eating or getting hit by pork.” Sounds like a waste of perfectly good pork to me.

    In Ontario, California, an intruder broke into a home through a bedroom window and “began to threaten and attack” the homeowner’s sleeping son. The homeowner “armed himself with a firearm [and] fired several rounds” which hit the intruder. The intruder became unalive after being transported to the hospital. In any other state that would be the end of it, but this is California we’re talking about. The police say “The case will be investigated as a homicide.” The intruder’s family says the shooting was unjustified: “Just because you have a gun and it’s registered, doesn’t give you the right to kill somebody.”

    In Phoenix, Arizona, two licensed gun dealers have been sentenced to prison for (among other things) illegal possession of a machine gun, obliterating the serial numbers of firearms, and the manufacturing, possession, receipt and transfer of machine guns in violation of the National Firearms Act.” They’d take the serial numbers from cheap registered machine guns and weld them onto more expensive models of illegally-manufactured machine guns to sell. Looks like they sold some to the wrong person.

    Yesterday we mentioned the work of Sabine Pearlman, who made a series of cross-section photos of various cartridges. Reader Jeremy S. emailed us: “Saw a link in the daily digest and made me think of this page. It’s pretty freaking cool! Instead of using the links at the top, I suggest just scrolling down and going through everything. I spent way too much time on here.” Me too, Jeremy. Me too.

  5. We here in Illinois are caught in the middle. A tag team composed of Michael Madigan (house speaker), Governor Quinn, Cullerton (senate president),, and Lisa Madigan( state attorney general) who is eyeing the Governors chair all are playing politics with the court mandated CCW. The court gave the General Assembly 180 days to get a ccw law in place. Then they had to have a month extension.

    As the bill is now, after it becomes law cities with home rule have an additional 10 days to pass their own firearm rules after which it will preempt any new ordinances. Home rule is the province of any city with a population of at least 25000. Rockford voted it out about 30 years ago.
    Hence, we have the push for new laws, primarily ARs. And oh yes did I mention Sheila Simon is the Lt. Governor and she is traveling the state leading the CHARGE! for the new laws.
    I would expect Lisa Madigan to file an injunction with
    the US Supreme Court. She has until the end of July.
    FYI Lisa Madigan (attorney general) and Michael Madigan (speaker of the house) are father and daughter.

    CHEERS!

  6. Mas, I’ve lived here in Illinois virtually all my life, with the brief period i spent in the Navy being the exception. I like some of what Chicago has to offer, insofar as food, music, museums go, but have long held the belief that anything within sight of the (formerly) Sears Tower on a clear day should be a State unto itself; the area is truly the tail wagging the dog. Several counties have taken a pro-CCW position, which is good, but I foresee at least a year before any legal CCW takes place. The politically-affiliated State Police are currently responsible for the abomination known as the FOID (Firearms Owner’s ID) card, and are backlogged months behind the mandated period by which they are required to provide said card; one can easily see that a lot of foot-dragging will take place re: course content, training the trainers, physically providing the new cards… and one can’t help but wonder how many otherwise law-abiding citizens are simply looking at what the Courts have said is un-Constitutional and are simply carrying, concealed. Several prosecutors have stated they will not pursue simple concealed-carry violations on the same basis, in areas as populous as Peoria County. Kudos, I say. Meanwhile, we wait.

  8. Gov. Quinn got a 30 day extension to “look the bill over”. This time allows any city to pass their own bans and get them grandfathered into the new law. It was done on purpose so cities could do so. It is expected that the law will be vetoed and all of the home rule towns will be the law of the land. This means we will get free concealed carry but that it will be banned by towns all through the state making it almost impossible to travel anywhere without breaking the law.

    We will then have to challenge and wait several years for another court to tell the state they’re violating civil liberties once again.

    For the record, Rockford isn’t a suburb of Chicago. We’re 80 miles west and still have cornfields in and around town.

  9. BREAKING: Illinois Governor Guts Concealed Carry Bill

    Posted on July 2, 2013 by Nick Leghorn

    Illinois governor Pat Quinn has used his power to veto specific sections of the concealed carry bill (passed with bipartisan support in the legislature) and further restrict the ability Illinoisans to defend themselves outside of their homes. Make the jump for the list of changes . . .

    ■ Requires a person carrying a gun to have it completely concealed, rather than mostly.
    ■Limits a person to carrying one magazine that is capable of holding 10 or fewer bullets.
    ■Prohibits carrying in any establishment where alcohol is consumed, except for a private residence or private club. The original bill prohibited carrying in establishments where alcohol sales account for more than 50 percent of receipts.
    ■Inverts the presumption of where a person can carry. Licensees can carry only in locations where the property owner has posted a sign indicating it’s OK to carry a gun on the property. Previously, the bill said property owners had to post signs if they wanted to prohibit carrying guns on their property.
    ■Allows employers to prohibit guns on their properties, even inside vehicles on parking lots. Previously, the bill’s “safe harbor” provision allowed an employee to keep his or her firearm in the car while parked in the lot, even if the employer prohibited firearms on the property.
    ■Requires a licensee to lock the gun in a case before exiting the vehicle when parked outside a location that prohibits guns. Previously, the bill allowed a licensee to carry an unloaded gun in the immediate area surrounding the car in order to store it or retrieve it from the trunk.
    ■Completely removes the preemption against bans on so-called assault weapons, thereby restoring the authority of municipalities to enact bans on such weapons.

    [via BND.com]

    From the press release that the governor’s office put out, it looks like while Pat Quinn has stripped out the provisions of the bill that would have made state law supersede local legislation for “assault weapons,” the language still exists to eliminate Chicago’s ability to regulate the ownership and carrying of handguns. In short, even with help from Rahm’s buddy in the Governor’s office, they’re still having concealed carry forced down their throats.

    Quinn’s words:

    HB183 strips the authority of home-rule governments to enact future laws on assault weapons to protect their local communities. This NRA-inspired provision is not in the interest of public safety or local communities. In fact, these provisions have nothing to do with the right to carry a concealed gun and have no place in this bill. Local governments should always have the right to strengthen their own ordinances to protect the public safety of their communities.

    His changes also, by default, make it ILLEGAL to carry a gun into a store UNLESS you are specifically permitted by a sign in the window. From the press release:

    Under the bill, loaded guns would be allowed in stores, restaurants, churches, children’s entertainment venues, movie theaters and other private properties, unless the owner visibly displays a sign prohibiting guns. As a matter of property rights, the legal presumption should always be that a person is not allowed to carry a concealed, loaded gun onto private property unless given express permission.

    In short, this sucks. But there’s still time for the Illinois legislature to overturn the veto, something that people are predicting will happen. Some see this as nothing more than Quinn polishing his pro gun control bona fides in preparation for his next election, knowing full well that the veto override will absolve him of all responsibility.

    For more information

  10. BREAKING: Illinois Legislators File to Overturn Governor’s Gutting of Concealed Carry Bill

    Posted on July 2, 2013 by Nick Leghorn

    Earlier today, Governor Pat Quinn did his best to take the teeth out of the Illinois concealed carry bill by using his amendatory veto powers to essentially re-write the legislation. In response, Representative Brandon W. Phelps has filed a motion to overturn the veto. What does that mean for the future of the bill? . . .

    Option A: The veto override fails. In this scenario, Illinois law says the bill is scrapped. This would send Illinois over the cliff into constitutional carry territory until a new bill is proposed and presented to the governor. Again. Lather, rinse, repeat.

    Option B: The veto override succeeds. The bill is immediately passed as-is, without the changes made by the Governor. This is the most likely scenario. Even Democrats in the legislature would rather vote to override the governor and enact the bill than let the Land of Lincoln become a constitutional carry state.

    It looks like this may have been staged in advance, the Governor using his powers to show his Chicago masters that he is reliably anti-gun before his re-election effort in the fall, while not actually doing anything to prevent the bill from becoming law. In other words, politics as usual for Illinois.