Posted on 10/30/2008 7:31:51 PM PDT by marktwain
Residents are urged to attend an informational meeting regarding the concealed carry law referendum that is on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Benton Public Property Commissioner Ronnie Baumgarte said the meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Benton Elks Lodge, 167 Industrial Park Road.
Illinois Carry spokesperson Valinda Rowe said the town hall meeting would include a question-and-answer period.
“We would love for people to come to the meeting to address their concerns about the legislation,” Rowe said. “Illinois is one of only two states that has not passed a concealed carry law. A concealed carry law means that qualified, responsible and law-abiding adults would be licensed to carry a concealed firearm for personal defense.
“The purpose of the referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot is to send a message to legislators that it is time to pass a concealed carry law so people can protect themselves,” Rowe said. “The concealed carry law does not imply that everyone would be entitled to carry a concealed weapon. There is a training requirement, a background check and applicants must have no history of felonies, mental illness or substance abuse.”
Rowe said while she is an Illinois resident, she has permits to carry a concealed weapon in 27 states.
“Before I cross the state line into Illinois, I have to stop, unload my weapon and put it in a case before I can enter Illinois because it is a felony to carry a concealed weapon in this state,” she said. “In order to obtain permits to carry a concealed firearm in other states, I went through training, fingerprinting, and a background check.”
She said past experiences prompted her to become vocal about legislation.
“My husband and I were targeted by a mentally ill person who lives near us,” Rowe said. “This man threatened us for years. It was a very frightful time for us. He would kill small animals and leave them on our property. We talked to the sheriff’s department but were told that nothing could be done because he hadn’t hurt anyone. I explained that I would like to be able to carry a concealed weapon in order to protect myself and my family. I was told that I could get an order of protection against the man but, basically, that is just a sheet of paper. Between 3,500 and 4,000 orders of protection are violated per year.”
Rowe said she became aware of the right to carry laws in other states and started networking with others to send a message to legislators.
“I am pretty vocal, which is why I was asked to be a spokesperson for the concealed carry law,” she said. “Without this law, we are rending ourselves as potential victims.”
She said the referendum would not change the existing law in Illinois.
“Illinois needs to look at this and join the rest of the country in passing the concealed carry law,” Rowe said. “Michigan passed a concealed carry law in 2001. At that time Jennifer Granholm was the attorney general and she was against the law. Seven years later, she is now governor. All of her fears have been proven unfounded. The law works great in Michigan and in all of the 48 states in which it has been passed.
“We have not been able to get the leadership in Springfield to move this legislation through the system,” Rowe said. “Tonight’s informational meeting will help residents understand the need to pass the referendum to send a message to Springfield to adopt legislation pertaining to a concealed carry law. I encourage citizens to attend the meeting.”
Baumgarte said residents of 14 counties including Franklin and Jefferson will be asked to answer the question, “Shall the General Assembly enact legislation to permit the carrying of concealed firearms?”
“Illinois and Wisconsin are the only two states that do not have concealed carry laws,” Baumgarte said. “Violent crime goes down in every state that passes a concealed carry law. Police cannot protect each of us 24 hours a day. Let’s all work together for our Second Amendment. We expect Sen. Gary Forby, Rep. John Bradley and other prominent people to attend tonight’s meeting.”
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I think they could do the CC laws one better, with the police actively soliciting the public to become CC holders.
Some police departments have used the technique of subsidizing police officer home ownership in high crime areas, and it works. So why not identify the “good” citizens in a high crime area, give them gun training and CC licenses, and even loan them handguns and ammunition?
In this case, each gun would be ballistic tested first, in case they were stolen or misused. Otherwise, it would establish a “legal gun presence” in the neighborhood, which would automatically reduce crime, or at least put it under pressure.
In such a program, at first a city would also want a larger police presence in that neighborhood for a while, until a “comfort level” with the CC holders had been achieved.
Why Wisconsin puts up with this is beyond me. But a lot of what goes on here is beyond me. People need to get beyond the next Packer game and get serious. If they studied politics as much as the Packers this state would be much improved.
The police should be encouraging gun ownership. It has been tried in the past, with something as simple as police giving free gun safety and handling classes, to the local government mandating gun ownership.
In every case, crime plummeted as a result.
If it matters any, several studies of CCW permitees proves they are the demographic that is the least likely to commit a violent crime.
from: http://www.ncpa.org/ba/ba324/ba324.html
In an unpublished report, engineering statistician William Sturdevant found that concealed carry licensees had arrest rates far lower than the general population for every category of crime. For instance:
Licensees were 5.7 times less likely to be arrested for violent offenses than the general public - 127 per 100,000 population versus 730 per 100,000.
Licensees were 14 times less likely to be arrested for nonviolent offenses than the general public - 386 per 100,000 population versus 5,212 per 100,000.
Further, the general public is 1.4 times more likely to be arrested for murder than licensees [see Figure I], and no licensee had been arrested for negligent manslaughter....
If cops can have ‘em, I should have ‘em. Actually, I already can, since I live in Minnesota. Get with the times, Illinois. I mean, we’re Minnesota, for pete’s sake.
I think all of you are failing to understand the extent of Daley/Blago/Rezko/O’Teleprompter’s one party machine.
Thanks to the behemoth that is Crook County, the city of Chitcago dominates all of its suburbs even 30 miles away (it’s the largest county in the country), dragging us down with them.
It also dominates the entire state, which is quite conservative and would do just fine if Chitcago disappeared and stopped dictating whims from hundreds of miles away and taxing them to fund its failed handout programs.
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