NRA and Illinois concealed carry

Richard Young

This afternoon I ran into Richard Young at Bob's Barber Shop in Wonder Lake. Richard is the McHenry County rep for the NRA. Naturally, I had to ask him what the NRA is doing for us who want concealed carry in Illinois.

Richard is a retired McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy and he told me about the NRA's lawsuits in Federal Court. On behalf of Illinois residents the NRA has filed lawsuits claiming the Illinois residents are being discriminated against, since some form of concealed carry exists in the 49 other States.

Obviously, these lawsuits in Federal Court are not frivolous. No attorney is going to risk his law license filing a frivolous law suit.

What I was angling for from Richard, and didn't get, was an answer to the question about how we do some brain surgery on enough of the Cook County Democratic state representatives who are blocking the passage of a good concealed carry bill in Illinois.

My personal opinion is that even success by the NRA's lawsuits will not result in a concealed carry law in Illinois. What we need is passage of the state law that allows it.

To get passage, we need to persuade six-to-ten Cook County Democratic Representatives. And we, outside of their Districts, are not going to persuade them. We must persuade their constituents to persuade the Representatives.

That will require telephone calls, letters, emails to the residents in the Districts of those Representatives, asking them to contact their Representatives and demand a concealed carry bill. I doubt that those Representatives want Chicago to claim the title of Murder Capital of the State of Illinois. But that's what will happen, if concealed carry doesn't get passed soon in Illinois.