Today was Illinois Gun Owners’ Lobby Day and about 2,250-2,500 Illinois gun owners visited the State Capitol to lobby State Senators and Representatives for their support of pending legislation to preserve Second Amendment rights and to oppose legislation that infringes on the rights of Illinois residents to own and use firearms. More than 20 commercial tour buses transported members of the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) and other supporters to Springfield from many cities in Illinois.
I boarded a bus at GAT Guns in East Dundee, which left at 6:00AM. We stopped in Aurora to pick up about 25 passengers and then continued to Springfield. After an early lunch we proceeded to the Hilton Hotel for an organizational meeting.
Several legislators helped kick off the meeting. The organizers held a parade permit for a 1:15PM march from the Hilton to the State Capitol. Many marchers carried flags, banners and homemade signs. The sign (above left) shows the large number of states (blue) that permit qualified residents to carry concealed weapons. Throughout the organizational meeting and in pre-event literature, it was stressed to approach legislators in a friendly, polite, respectful manner, regardless of the views believed to be held by the legislator.
We marched from the Hilton with escort services of the Springfield Police Department. The march was ordered and fairly tight. Buses were provided for participants who felt they were unable to march the six blocks to the Capitol. After a rally on the Capitol steps we entered the buildings, passed through security and proceeded to pay individual calls on legislators.
I met with approximately one dozen legislators and found them welcoming and friendly. Most were already in support of legislation desired by members of the ISRA. Some who were not still were open and respectful of our visits.
Before today’s visit I believed I understood the legislation about “assault” weapons and 50 caliber weapons. I found that I did not, so today’s trip was extremely worthwhile for me.
I had believed that assault weapons were already banned by Federal laws and that assault weapons were the fully-automatic weapons available only to police and military personnel. Now I understand this is not the case. In Cook County an “assault” weapon can be any rifle that “looks” like an assault weapon. It need not be fully-automatic. So, if you dress up an ordinary rifle cosmetically so that it looks “mean”, it becomes an illegal weapon. This is absolutely ludicrous – stupid – insane.
Typically, an assault weapon is one that will fire all rounds in the magazine with one pull of the trigger. Except in Cook County. And except as proposed legislation in Illinois.
A semi-automatic weapon is one that requires one pull of the trigger for each round to be fired.
There is an excellent video on the website of GAT Guns at http://www.gatguns.com/, in which a California police officer and trainer clearly explains and demonstrates the difference between these weapons.
And the 50 caliber issue? This can sweep up many hunting weapons, including many shotguns, because the legislation seems to be only about the size of the barrel, not the type of gun. This “open door” is unacceptable in legislation, which should be clear and precise.
Cook County and the City of Chicago swing enormous clout in Illinois government. They may be able to control whether the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution is endangered in Illinois. Forty-eight states (out of 50) allow some form of carrying weapons outside the home. Two states do not; Illinois and Wisconsin.
Wisconsin almost joined the ranks of the 48 states. The legislature passed the bill; Gov. Doyle vetoed it, and the legislature only barely missed overriding his veto.
It is clear that major crimes go down when the citizenry is armed. Criminals are less willing to act, when they just don’t know if the prospective victim is armed.
A local legislator wrote to me recently, saying, “Just keep educating people that a truly free society is one in which it can protect itself and get them to share that message with their representatives and senator.”
I boarded a bus at GAT Guns in East Dundee, which left at 6:00AM. We stopped in Aurora to pick up about 25 passengers and then continued to Springfield. After an early lunch we proceeded to the Hilton Hotel for an organizational meeting.
Several legislators helped kick off the meeting. The organizers held a parade permit for a 1:15PM march from the Hilton to the State Capitol. Many marchers carried flags, banners and homemade signs. The sign (above left) shows the large number of states (blue) that permit qualified residents to carry concealed weapons. Throughout the organizational meeting and in pre-event literature, it was stressed to approach legislators in a friendly, polite, respectful manner, regardless of the views believed to be held by the legislator.
We marched from the Hilton with escort services of the Springfield Police Department. The march was ordered and fairly tight. Buses were provided for participants who felt they were unable to march the six blocks to the Capitol. After a rally on the Capitol steps we entered the buildings, passed through security and proceeded to pay individual calls on legislators.
I met with approximately one dozen legislators and found them welcoming and friendly. Most were already in support of legislation desired by members of the ISRA. Some who were not still were open and respectful of our visits.
Before today’s visit I believed I understood the legislation about “assault” weapons and 50 caliber weapons. I found that I did not, so today’s trip was extremely worthwhile for me.
I had believed that assault weapons were already banned by Federal laws and that assault weapons were the fully-automatic weapons available only to police and military personnel. Now I understand this is not the case. In Cook County an “assault” weapon can be any rifle that “looks” like an assault weapon. It need not be fully-automatic. So, if you dress up an ordinary rifle cosmetically so that it looks “mean”, it becomes an illegal weapon. This is absolutely ludicrous – stupid – insane.
Typically, an assault weapon is one that will fire all rounds in the magazine with one pull of the trigger. Except in Cook County. And except as proposed legislation in Illinois.
A semi-automatic weapon is one that requires one pull of the trigger for each round to be fired.
There is an excellent video on the website of GAT Guns at http://www.gatguns.com/, in which a California police officer and trainer clearly explains and demonstrates the difference between these weapons.
And the 50 caliber issue? This can sweep up many hunting weapons, including many shotguns, because the legislation seems to be only about the size of the barrel, not the type of gun. This “open door” is unacceptable in legislation, which should be clear and precise.
Cook County and the City of Chicago swing enormous clout in Illinois government. They may be able to control whether the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution is endangered in Illinois. Forty-eight states (out of 50) allow some form of carrying weapons outside the home. Two states do not; Illinois and Wisconsin.
Wisconsin almost joined the ranks of the 48 states. The legislature passed the bill; Gov. Doyle vetoed it, and the legislature only barely missed overriding his veto.
It is clear that major crimes go down when the citizenry is armed. Criminals are less willing to act, when they just don’t know if the prospective victim is armed.
A local legislator wrote to me recently, saying, “Just keep educating people that a truly free society is one in which it can protect itself and get them to share that message with their representatives and senator.”
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