Dismiss gun control rhetoric

The Illinois State Rifle Association issued this press release on Sunday. 

A MESSAGE TO ISRA MEMBERS REGARDING THE RECENT EVENTS IN CONNECTICUT

Like all people of good conscience Illinois’ 1.5 million law-abiding firearm owners are shocked and saddened by the crime that took place recently in Newtown, Connecticut.  The families of the victims are certainly in our thoughts as they work through the anguish that accompanies the sudden and violent loss of a loved one.

The heartfelt compassion we feel for the victims of this crime is matched only by the deep disdain we feel for Governor Pat Quinn, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the rest of the political opportunists who have swooped down on Newtown like a flock of vultures hungry to devour the 2nd Amendment.

The echoes of the sirens had hardly faded when Quinn and other gun control extremists hit the airwaves calling for the passage of legislation that would effectively abolish the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution.  Law-abiding gun owners have grown used to being blamed for the misdeeds of others and we’re equally used to mounting effective defenses against those who would deny us our rights.

In the hours since the horror, we’'ve learned a lot about the Newtown killer with sadly familiar patterns emerging.  As has been seen in mass shootings dating way back to Laurie Dann, the Newtown killer was apparently a mentally ill young person whose wealthy family insulated him from reality until he decided to create his own reality – at the expense of more than two dozen innocent people.

As more facts in the case come to light, we also see a familiar pattern of warning signs leading up to the murders.  It has been reported that the Newtown killer left telltale messages on social media sites and had been involved in a heated altercation at the doomed school only days before.  Furthermore, we learn now that, in the week before the murders, the killer had attempted to purchase a rifle but the sale was denied because he could not pass a background check.

In this case, it may be said that gun control “worked.”  Denied legal access to firearms, the deranged killer murdered a legal firearm owner, stole several of the victim’s guns, and exacted his idea of revenge against nearly 30 innocent people.  The pieces of the equation that did not work were the social institutions that are supposed to prevent mentally ill individuals from becoming a menace to themselves and others.

Of course, the gun control movement is trying to sell the notion that the Newtown crimes somehow share a direct link to the free exercise of 2nd Amendment rights.  The gun controllers would have the public believe that the killer was just a typical “gun guy” and that every gun owner represents a spree killing just waiting to happen.

Such is the logic that will fuel the gun control movement’s latest onslaught against your gun rights.  As you read this message, gun-grabbers like Pat Quinn, Rahm Emanuel, and Michael Bloomberg are formulating legislation that would result in the banning and confiscation of nearly every firearm you own.

In the days and weeks ahead, you will hear a lot of talk about the need for a dialog on so called “gun violence” as well as a need for compromise to seek common ground on gun ownership.  Don'’t be confused.  Such talk is just meant to soften you up for a serious curtailment of your right to keep and bear arms.

You, the law-abiding Illinois firearm owner, may rest assured that the Illinois State Rifle Association will be standing firm to preserve and protect your gun rights.  We absolutely will not allow you to be lumped in with psychopathic murderers.  The ISRA will not allow you to take it on the chin because liberal social engineers have created a climate where we are expected to learn to live with sociopaths rather than forcing the sociopaths to live by our rules.

Likewise, the ISRA will not engage in any “dialog” in which lawful firearm owners are expected to accept blame for what happened last week in Connecticut.  We will not be party to any sort of “compromise” that limits free exercise of your 2nd Amendment rights nor limits the types or numbers of firearms that you may own.  At this time, the only thing we’re really interested in discussing is the immediate passage of concealed carry in Illinois as per the recent court order.

The Connecticut murders have delivered an insult to our nation’s sensibilities and our culture.  In the aftermath of such events, people seek explanations for things that cannot be understood by rational individuals.  Sadly, politicians are eager to step in and fill the void – offering solutions that promise little more than a boost to the politician’s career.

It’s easy for politicians like Governor Pat Quinn to stand up and pound the lectern while calling for the ban and confiscation of semi-automatic firearms.  But Quinn and his ilk would do well to remember that there are about 1.5 million firearm owners in Illinois.  Of that 1.5 million, most own one or more firearms that would be banned under the knee-jerk proposals being floated post-Newtown.  Enactment and attempted enforcement of such a gun ban would serve only to divide a divided nation even further.  The cost of enforcement would be enormous in terms of resources and unintended consequences.  The nation must ask itself just what price it is willing to pay to attempt enforcement of laws that do nothing more than give politicians a moment in the limelight.

If ever there was a moment where law-abiding gun owners need to get involved to preserve and protect their rights, it is now.  The ISRA is urging all Illinois firearm owners to contact their state representatives and state senators and deliver the message that lawful firearm owners will not play the role of scapegoat and thus will not sit idly by while their rights are being curtailed.  Remind them that their job is to protect the fabric of society, not the moths that would seek to destroy it.  If you do not know how to get in contact with your state representative or state senator, please visit the Illinois State Board of Elections website below:

Illinois State Board of Elections Legislature Search

As we have said many times before, gun control is a disease and you are the cure.  We'’re about to face an epidemic of attempted gun grabs.  Be prepared and arm yourself with the resolve to uphold that which so many brave men and women have died to defend.