Gang attacks on HB 0148

Several gangs are attacking House Bill 0148, this year's best effort to get concealed carry in Illinois. Let's fight off these gangs. Who are they?

Well, one is the Brady Gang. No, not the Brady Bunch, but the state group called the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence that is aligned with the national Brady gang. They aren't just against handgun violence (who isn't?) - they are against handguns! Period. They often spread misleading information to inflame readers who don't question what they read.

And Illinois college and university administrators are tearing down HB 0148, according to the National Rifle Association (NRA). They don't like the NRA's position that carrying a gun onto a campus shouldn't be a felony.

Let's say that Illinois passes concealed carry. Should a college campus be a gun-free zone? What better place for a shooter than a gun-free zone, like a college or university campus. Why wouldn't a college president want a law-abiding, trained, armed student on his or her campus who could help protect other students?

What if there had been one or two armed students in Cole Hall at NIU on Valentine's Day in 2008? Think maybe one of them might have stopped Kaczmierczak sooner?

Call your Illinois State Representative on Monday. Ask him or her to vote for HB 0148. Ask him or her how he or she intends to vote. Get a clear answer; no waffling allowed.

When you call Jack Franks' office, ask him to support this important bill and not to stop it because he is worried about whether a gunman will come into his office and shoot a client, if Jack declares his law office a gun-free zone. The many reasons to support this Bill far outweigh the small reason that now seems to be Jack's excuse for not supporting HB 0148.

Tell Jack whether he can count on your vote in a future election, if he supports this bill now. McHenry County will be a safer place, if concealed carry passes. Ask Jack if he wants McHenry County to be a safer place. Ask him to get out in front, be a leader, and to become a co-sponsor of this Bill, even at this late date.