Good News for Chicago; Bad News for "The Machine"

Illinois Becomes Last State To Approve Concealed Carry | NBC Chicago:

Both the Illinois House and Senate on Tuesday voted to override Gov. Pat Quinn's revised gun bill, making the state the last in the country to allow firearms to be carried in public. 
The Senate voted 41-17 after the House's 77-31 vote to override Quinn's amendatory veto that wanted to keep guns out of places that serve alcohol and impose a one-gun limit. The votes came just before a midnight federal appeals court's deadline to allow Illinois residents to carry concealed guns. 
 Quinn used his amendatory [sic] veto last week to make changes to the compromise concealed carry bill already passed by the legislature.

In a not-so-surprising move, Illinois State Legislatures decided to support the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (as interpreted by the Supreme Court of The United States - SCOTUS) and over-ride the wishes of the Governor of that not-so-great state.

We in the rest of the country have heard that The Machine .. the political entity which controls politics in Illinois and especially in Chicago ... was and always will rule the state regardless of any 'outside' influence; such as SCOTUS.

Quinn's "amendments" would, among other points, limit the number of firearms one person could carry "concealed" to one (?), limit the number of magazines to one, and limit the number of rounds of ammunition carried to ten.  It would also mandate that the firearms carry 'concealed' would be "CONCEALED!" .. whatever that means.

Local Trepidation:

Not everyone in Illinois is jubilant about the new gun laws:   In an MSNBC article,  (titled:

Despite Chicago bloodshed, Illinois will allow concealed carry

...   one writer offered:

Some lawmakers from urban jurisdictions like Chicago voted against the concealed carry law, fearing it would lead to even more gun violence. The city has struggled to bring down the rate of murders and shootings, but over the 4th of July holiday weekend, at least 60 people were shot and 12 were killed in Chicago. Over Father’s Day Weekend, more than 40 people were shot and seven were killed by gun violence.
Tuesday’s passage was a significant victory for the NRA, after Congress failed to pass a bipartisan bill that would have strengthened background checks for all commercial gun purchases. Although President Obama continues his pledge to pressure Congress to pass stricter gun legislation, the state where he served as a senator voted to expand gun rights.

Oh, was anyone unaware that Chicago and Illinois are the center of Liberal Democrat politics?

But of course, it's all the fault of the NRA. 

The assertion that Chicago has " .. .struggled against gun violence ..." seems somehow a violation of the 'you can't have it both ways' rule.  "Gun Violence" is already rampant in Chicago, specifically, and  Illinois, generally.  Are shooting deaths going to go UP just because people can now defend themselves?  If so .. it's going to be the gang-bangers who suddenly must consider that the home-owner they are accustomed to terrifying may now be armed.  Wouldn't THAT be a rude awakening?

Increased restrictions on private possession of firearms hasn't worked, so what has the Governor of Illinois done to 'struggle against gun violence'?  He has tried even harder to prevent honest citizens from possessing the means to prevent Gun Violence and protect themselves.   Doesn't sound to ME that Governor Quinn has 'struggled' all that hard, considering that he is protected by armed guards at all time.

The proposed "concealed carry permit" would piggyback on a fee for a license to own a handgun, and why the CCP would cost $150.  (Not known yet whether that is per permit or per gun, but one assumes that it's "per permit" .. surely no responsible local government would double-bill a "per gun" permit!)
Nobody has yet mentioned that this would constitute an intolerable tax on the poor, who can probably ill-afford to purchase a firearm except at street-prices; expect stolen-gun prices to go up in the immediate future, by the way.  It's just business, driven by the Democratic Machine and their whining juvenile efforts to ensure that if they don't get to have everything their own way ... somebody else is going to pay!

For a comparison, some counties only charge $65 for a CHL ... but I'm sure Illinois knows best how to serve its citizens.  After all, they've done so well to date.



Significance:


Back in the early 1960's, then-President Dwight David Eisenhower posted armed federal marshals at the entrance to public schools in the Deep South to ensure that black students could attend 'mixed race' schools depending on their residential address .. not "separate but equal" schools, based on their race.

This Illinois acceptance of a Federal mandate is perhaps equally as significant as the true integration of educational opportunities.

Which is to say, not only must the states pay more than 'lip service' to the Constitution, but the states must also be prevented from undermining the clear intent of the Bill of Rights by imposing draconian and pettifogging restrictions on the civil rights of their citizens.

Chicago, we're looking at you here.  No more Tammany Hall; no more one-man rule.

This is a HUGE step forward for Gun Rights Advocates:

For too many years, we have heard of, and read the words of, citizens who have decided to leave their home state and move to where they can freely exercise their Civil Rights.  In this case, we're talking about the Second Amendment.

But this is not the only reason to move;  gay rights, excessive taxation, and other 'local rules' have brought about a forced migration.  It doesn't much matter what your personal issue is, or whether you are personally in favor of (or opposed to) the display of a Christian Cross on public land .. to cite just a few examples.   The Constitution is The Law of The Land, and this simple document defines the freedom of America.

It is  "Rule By Law".

Tough Time in Chicago

I know there are going to be 'troubles' in Chicago.  Somebody will take advantage of the new laws, and will be found guilty of 'brandishing' a firearm when he or she feels intimidated.  They will go to jail.  Some people will be shot; some of those people will not deserve it.

When you've been held down for so long, and you finally have the RIGHT to defend yourself, you may be lost in the heady reality of personal choice.

Illinois already had a tragic history of stupidity. Senseless shootings are reported on a DAILY basis.  Now, there will be a new twist for reporters; it's not just gang-bangers shooting the innocent, it will be the Honest Citizen who hasn't learned to merge his new freedoms with his new responsibilities.

But I am going out on the limb here and suggest that gang-bangers will learn a new brand of civility.

In the words of Robert Heinlein:  "An armed society is a Polite society."

Chicago may take a while to learn the lessons of civility, but the penalty for slow-learners has just increased.  Other states have learned these lessons with relatively few "hiccups" let us hope that Illinois citizens can learn to be Free Citizens rather than Subjects as easily, and with as few over-reactions.

And that's "A Good Thing"!