Deputies - where are you on Right to Carry?

This message is addressed to deputies and police officers - where do you stand on the right of law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons?

If I am elected Sheriff of McHenry County on November 2, I intend to do whatever I can, legally, to push for right-to-carry laws in Illinois. And without the insane restriction wanted by the Illinois Sheriffs' Association.

The criminals are already carrying. Why shouldn't law-abiding citizens have the right to carry?

This won't mean that you have to carry. But if some punk has a gun in your face or is threatening your kids, you'll probably wish that someone nearby would be able to defend you or them.

No one knows where Keith Nygren stands on right-to-carry. Some of us intend to find out on September 30, when the McHenry County Right-to-Carry Association holds a forum in Lakemoor. It's first event drew about 500 men and women.

Nygren stood there and explained the position of the Illinois Sheriffs' Association, but he never said where he stood. He did not say whether he participated in ISA's survey, attended its Winter Conference, attended its session when a vote was taken, or whether he voted (or how he voted, if he did).

If he shows up on September 30, listen very carefully to his exact words. Listen to what he says and to what he doesn't say.

Here's what I say: law-abiding residents of Illinois should have the right to carry a concealed weapon. Period. Without allowing the sheriff of a county or a police chief to scrutinize or approve an application.

The process should be handled impartially by the Illinois State Police. Any application should be measured against known standards - those already in use in many of the United States. And, if you meet those standards, you get your permit. Even if the local sheriff doesn't like you.

Is there anyone in the County who thinks Nygren would approve an application for me? I have been criticizing the sheriff's department for more than 10 years. Would Nygren be like the sheriff in Iowa who tried to keep a foe from getting a concealed carry permit? The sheriff there got smacked down by a court, but it certainly cost the permit applicant a pile of money to gain his right.