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Friday Will Be Last Day For Towns In Illinois To Ban Guns

July 15, 2013 by

With the override of the amendatory veto of HB 183, the clock is ticking for towns and cities in Illinois who want to impose their own semi-auto firearm restrictions. The bill gave Illinois municipalities 10 days after its passage to have these ordinances in place or forever forego them.

From the alert below from the Illinois State Rifle Association, it appears that a number of cities and towns in and around Cook County are racing to get them in place before the deadline.

From the ISRA alert:

URGENT ALERT – Will your town try to ban your rifle this
week?

Attend one of these meetings!

Monday Night Meetings to
Ban Guns:
Evanston Lake Zurich Morton Grove*
Darien Clarendon Hills Thornton
Waukegan Gurnee Flossmoor
River Forest Lake Forest Steger
Buffalo Grove Batavia University Park

Tuesday Night Meetings to Ban Guns:
Lincolnwood Winnetka

Thursday Night Meetings to Ban Guns:
Morton Grove** Palos Hills Hanover Park





Here is the current status:  The Illinois CCW
act has been passed into law by an override of the
governor’s veto on July 9.  The 10-day window
for municipalities for enact their own local
semi-auto bans expires on July 19.

In a last-ditch effort to solve to a non-existent
problem, Cook County and collar county communities
are going to show that they can get tough on crime
by coming down hard on the law-abiding citizens who
choose to own popular semi-automatic firearms.

Are you tired of hearing about attempts to take away
your firearms?
Here is what you need to
do:

1. No matter where you live, plan to be at one of
the meetings listed below. Be sure to bring a friend
or two along with you.

2. Wear IGOLD or NRA hats and/or teeshirts.

3. Be prepared to vigorously defend your rights.

4. If you see media there, approach them and tell
them that you are a law-abiding Illinois firearm
owner and that you do not support gun bans.

5. Be sure to get to the meeting site at least 45
minutes early so you will get a seat. We need to
make our voices heard.

6. Pass this alert on to you friends and family and
tell them to attend meetings too.

7. Post this to all forums to which you belong.

Monday:

What: Evanston City Council –
GUN BAN
on agenda.

Agenda 

Packet (p10)
Where:

2100 Ridge Ave  Evanston 60201
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:00 pm

What: Darien City Council –
GUN BAN
on agenda.

Agenda 

Memo
Where: 1702
Plainfield Rd  Darien 60561
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:30 pm

What: Waukegan City Council –
GUN BAN
on agenda.

Agenda
Where: 100 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Av
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:00 pm

What: River Forest “Special” Village Board –

Nothing in the published

agenda yet.  Go there anyway.
Where: 400
Park Avenue, River Forest  60305
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:00 pm

What:
Buffalo Grove Village Board –
GUN BAN
on agenda.

Agenda p229
Where: 50 Raupp Boulevard
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:30 pm

What: Lake
Zurich Village Board –
GUN BAN
on agenda.

Agenda p229
Where:


Police Dept  200 Mohawk Trail Community Room 
60047
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:00 pm

What:
Clarendon Hills Village Board –
GUN BAN
on agenda.

Agenda 

Packet p72
Where:


1 N. Prospect  Clarendon Hills 60514
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:00 pm

What:
Gurnee Village Board –
GUN BAN
on agenda.

Agenda 


Where:


325 N O’Plaine Rd  Gurnee 60031
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:30 pm

What: Lake Forest


City Council –

Agenda
Gun Ban discussion to be
continued from last meeting
Where: 220 E. Deerpath
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:30 pm



What:
Batavia


City Council –
GUN BAN on agenda.

Agenda


Where: 100
N. Island Ave  Batavia 60510
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:30 pm

What:
Morton Grove
Village Town Hall Meeting –
GUN BAN
on agenda. *


Agenda 

Patch Article 



Where:


American Legion  6140 Dempster
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:00 pm


What:

Thornton Village Board –
Nothing in the published

agenda yet.
Go there anyway.
Where: 115 E
Margaret St. 
Thornton 60476
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:30 pm



What:
Flossmoor Village Board –
GUN BAN on agenda.

Agenda Packet (p45)
Where: 2800
Flossmoor Rd   Flossmoor 60422
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:30 pm

What:
Steger Village Board –
GUN BAN on agenda.

Agenda Packet p49

Committee Agendas
Where: 35 W
34th St. Steger  60475
When:
Monday, 15 July 7:00 pm



What: University Park “Special” Village Board –
GUN BAN
on agenda.

Agenda


Where:
90 Towncenter Dr. 
University Park 60484
When:
Monday, 15 July   Committee: 6:00 pm   
Board: 7:30 pm







Tuesday:

What:
Winnetka Village Board –
GUN BAN on agenda.

Agenda Packet p197
Where: 510
Green Bay Rd  Winnetka 60093
When:
Tuesday, 16 July 7:00 pm

What:
Lincolnwood Village Board –
GUN BAN on agenda.

Agenda 
&

(big) Packet  p515
Where:

6900 N. Lincoln Ave 
Lincolnwood 60712
When:
Tuesday, 16 July 7:30 pm




Thursday:

What: Morton Grove “Special” Village Board – **

GUN BAN on the (yet to be
published) agenda.


Where:
6101 Capulina Ave  Morton
Grove 60053
When:
Thursday,
18 July   7:00 pm







What: Hanover Park Village Board –

GUN BAN on the (yet to be
published) agenda.


Where: 2121 Lake Street, Hanover
Park
When:
Thursday,
18 July   7:30 pm







What: Palos Hills City Council –
No published agenda yet. 
Go there anyway.


Where:
10335 S Roberts Rd  Palos
Hills 60465
When:
Thursday,
18 July   7:00 pm











For


status of previous meetings,
other meeting times, talking points against semi-auto bans, copies of
proposed ordinances, links to other resources; please visit

http://isra.org/townhall .

UPDATE: Thanks to Todd Vandermyde of the NRA, we have a report of which towns adopted any new gun control and which ones did not. It looks like it turned out to be a good night as most towns failed to adopt any new ordinances controlling firearms.

Batavia – FAILED motion to table.
Buffalo Grove – passed a bifurcated ordinance cook ban in cook, no ban in Lake county side
Clarendon Hills – FAILED
Darien – FAILED
Evanston – PASSED modified to exempt C&R licensees
Evergreen Park – FAILED no motion
Flossmoor – FAILED
Gurnee – NO ACTION, DEAD
Lake Forest – TABLED
Lake Zurich – NO BAN. Shell ordinance Failed.
Morton Grove – pending
River Forest — ????
Round Lake Beach – FAILED
Steger – FAILED
Thornton – removed from agenda
University Park— BanFAILED, storage ordinance passed
Waukegan – FAILED

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A Thoroughly Despicable Politician

July 15, 2013 by 2 Comments

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) appeared today on NBC’s Meet The Press. In his interview with David Gregory, he was asked about the Zimmerman trial and the role of the Department of Justice in any further proceedings. He said, “And I think the Justice Department’s going to take a look at this. You know, this isn’t over with, and I think that’s good, that’s our system. It’s gotten better, not worse.”

Harry Reid is a thoroughly despicable politician whose only interest in this affair is keeping racial animosity stirred up so as to keep African-Americans voting in high numbers for the Democrat Party.

Harry Reid is scum and a sad excuse for a human being.

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Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité

July 14, 2013 by 2 Comments

It almost escaped my notice that today is Bastille Day which is otherwise known in France as La Fête Nationale. What jogged my memory was a series of photos on MilitaryPhotos.Net of the military parades associated with this day in France.

Say what you will about the French, they do parades well!

Flyover seen from the Louvre.

French armour driving down the Champs de Elysee
French Foreign Legion led by their Pioneers

Below is a report on the parade by French television.

14 Juillet : les temps forts du défilé

Of course, there is this alternate celebration of Bastille Day by the band Rush from their 1975 album Caress of Steel.

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Permanent Injunction Issued Against Mississippi Law On Open Carry

July 13, 2013 by 3 Comments

Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Winston Kidd issued a permanent injunction against Mississippi HB 2 calling it “unconstitutionally vague.” He ordered that it can’t take effect until such time as the Mississippi Legislature “reviews, amends, or clarifies” HB 2 so as to accomplish its intended purpose.

found no case law, or any other authority, which gives an individual the absolute right to “open carry” a weapon, as contended by the state.”. Judge Kidd further said “when the legislature creates laws which are vague, confusing, and overbroad, then it is the responsibility of hte court to make a determination as to the law’s constitutionality…. House Bill 2 is unconstitutional…

House Bill 2 does more than define “concealed.” It creates confusion and chaos with respect to the enforcement of gun laws here in this state. House bill 2 does not clearly set forth “who is allowed to openly carry a weapon in a holster. Certainly our legislature did not mean to allow anyone and everyone to openly carry a weapon in a holster. Next, House Bill 2 does notn state “where” an individual can openly carry a weapon in a holster. If this law goes into effect, individuals will attempt to openly carry weapons anywhere and everywhere. This can not possibly be the intent of our legislature….”

The full decision can be found here.

Mississippi House Judiciary Chairman Andy Gipson (R-Braxton), who was the author of the bill, fully expects Kidd’s ruling to be appealed by the State of Mississippi to the Mississippi Supreme Court. He has also gotten confirmation that the National Rifle Association intends to file an amicus brief in support of the state’s case.


In comments to the Clarion-Ledger, Gipson said:

“They (NRA) do see this as a matter of constitutional gun rights being threatened,” Gipson said.

Gipson said he was not surprised by the judge’s ruling, and believes the case will head post-haste to the state Supreme Court.

“(Kidd) just continued what he did with the temporary restraining order, and I am confident we will be appealing, the state will appeal, to the Supreme Court,” Gipson said. “I just think the judge got it wrong. Anybody who reads House Bill 2 can clearly see the legislation is clear and that the Legislature has the right to regulate concealed carry.

Attorney General Jim Hood (D-MS) released a written statement this afternoon indicating that he will be appealing the ruling after he has had time to study it.

“We are in the process of reviewing the Judge’s order,” said Hood in a written statement. “At this stage, we are likely to ask the Mississippi Supreme Court to take a look at this case. We have 21 days to do so, but it will be up to the Court as to whether and when they do. It remains the duty of this office to defend our State laws and their constitutionality.”

More comments from both sides and some courtroom footage can be in seen in the video report below from WLBT-Channel 3/Fox 40 in Jackson.

MSNewsNow.com – Jackson, MS

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“Is HB 937 Mired in ‘Dysfunction Junction’?”

July 12, 2013 by 1 Comment

HB 937 which has passed both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly is languishing in the House waiting their concurrence. The reason? Because the Republican leaders in both houses and Gov. Pat McCrory won’t get their damn act together.

Two things should be remembered. First, House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg) is running for the Republican nomination for the US Senate and wants to replace Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC). He is going to need the support of gun owners if he wants to take down a well-funded incumbent senator.

Second, one of the reasons that Sturm, Ruger & Co. chose the state of North Carolina for their third manufacturing plant is because we were considered a pro-gun state. They haven’t finished buying the plant in Mayodan yet and still could go to either Texas or South Carolina. Upwards of 500 new manufacturing jobs are at risk due to the shenanigans by the General Assembly and they need to be reminded of it. Senate President Pro-Tem Phil Berger represents Rockingham County which needs those jobs.

GRNC just issued an alert on the bill this afternoon.

Is HB 937 Mired in ‘Dysfunction Junction’?

Long over-due bill languishes while Republican leaders haggle…

Within sight of final victory, House Bill 937 (“Amend Various Firearms Laws”) for concealed carry in restaurants, assemblies for which admission is charged, campuses, parades and funerals, (and much more) faces one final obstacle: Intra-party Republican bickering between the NC House, Senate and Governor’s mansion.

Governor Pat McCrory, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, and House Speaker Thom Tillis have battled over the budget, abortion legislation and more. In the latest episode of “dysfunction junction,” they are now haggling over what happens should HB 937 go to a conference committee.

To their credit, Speaker Tillis and members of both chambers continue to promise to pass the bill this year. Moreover, they seem happy with most aspects of the legislation except the pistol purchase permit repeal. The question is: What’s next and when will it happen?

Enough is enough!

GRNC is coordinating an effort to let Tillis, Berger and McCrory know we are serious about passing HB 937, and that failure to do so may have serious consequences for one or more prominent Republicans in upcoming elections. To that end, we want you to email your concerns to them, and to call each of their offices on Monday morning at 9:00 am.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

  • EMAIL REPUBLICAN LEADERS: Using the contact information below, email Speaker Thom Tillis, Senate President Phil Berger and Governor Pat McCrory. Let them know that you expect a concurrence vote immediately on HB 937, and for it to be signed when it hits the Governor’s desk.


  • CALL REPUBLICAN LEADERS at 0900 AM MONDAY: Using the contact information below, begin calling the offices of Speaker Tillis, Senate President Berger and Governor McCrory at 9:00 AM Monday. If you can’t get through immediately, keep trying. Tell them to stop bickering and pass HB 937.

CONTACT INFO

House Speaker Thom Tillis
Email: Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net
Phone: (919) 733-3451

Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger
Email: Phil.Berger@ncleg.net
Phone: (919) 733-5708

Governor Pat McCrory
Email: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/contact/email-pat
Phone: (919) 814-2000

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: “Bring HB 937 to a vote!”

Dear Senate President Pro Tem / Speaker of the House/ Governor:

I strongly urge you to put aside intra-party Republican squabbling and respond to gun-owning voters who played a large role in making North Carolina the only battleground state to make conservative gains in the 2012 elections.

All competing factions need to stop maneuvering and serve the people who put them in office. Specifically, House Bill 937 (“Amend Various Firearms Laws”) needs to come to a prompt concurrence vote this week.

We’ve heard all the promises: Now we want action. Speaker Tillis needs to bring HB 937 to a concurrence vote, he and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger should resolve differences in a conference committee, if necessary, and after it clears both chambers, Governor McCrory needs to sign it into law. This year.

If HB 937 dies as the result of being held hostage to Republican power struggles, let me assure you there will be consequences in 2014 and 2016. I will be monitoring your actions via Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.

Respectfully,

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Good Riddance To Big Sis

July 12, 2013 by 7 Comments

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will be leaving that post to become the new President of the University of California System.

Janet Napolitano, the U.S. secretary of Homeland Security and former governor of Arizona, is being named as the next president of the University of California system, in an unusual choice that brings a national-level politician to a position usually held by an academic, The Times has learned. Her appointment also means the 10-campus system will be headed by a woman for the first time in its 145-year history.

Napolitano’s nomination by a committee of UC regents came after a secretive process that insiders said focused on her early as a high-profile, although untraditional, candidate who has led large public agencies and shown a strong interest in improving education.

The selection committee was headed by former film industry executive Sherry Lansing.

An unnamed source close to Napolitano had this to say about her decision in taking the position:

“I think she loves working for President Obama and serving the American people, but at the same time, this is a unique opportunity,” he said. Napolitano knows “UC is probably the premier institution in the country. She is motivated by the fact that being a part of UC, she will be a part of educating future leaders of tomorrow and be part of a state that sets so much of the agenda nationally.”

The thought that Napolitano would have anything to do with educating future leaders is a scary thought!

You have to wonder if Napolitano’s departure is an indicator that the rats are starting to desert the ship – Hillary’s gone, Geithner’s gone, and now Big Sis.  Will Eric Holder be next or is he essential to protecting the backside of Obama? It is probably the latter.

As to Big Sis leaving, good riddance. I hate to see her inflicted on California but better them than the rest of the US.

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Comment Of The Day, No. 2

July 12, 2013 by

Professor Randy Barnett of Georgetown University Law Center had an excellent op-ed in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. In the op-ed, he calls the seizure of private data by the NSA unconstitutional. Barnett goes on to say that the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in compiling a database of our private financial transactions including credit card payments, mortgage transactions, etc. should also be considered a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights to be “secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures”.

The comment of the day concerns what should be the proper role of government in relationship to the citizenry: the government is the servant and the people are the masters.

In a republican government based on popular sovereignty, the people are the principals or masters and those in government are merely their agents or servants. For the people to control their servants, however, they must know what their servants are doing.

The secrecy of these programs makes it impossible to hold elected officials and appointed bureaucrats accountable. Relying solely on internal governmental checks violates the fundamental constitutional principle that the sovereign people must be the ultimate external judge of their servants’ conduct in office. Yet such judgment and control is impossible without the information that such secret programs conceal. Had it not been for recent leaks, the American public would have no idea of the existence of these programs, and we still cannot be certain of their scope.

Even if these blanket data-seizure programs are perfectly proper now, the technical capability they create makes it far easier for government to violate the rights of the people in the future. Consider why gun rights advocates so vociferously oppose gun registration. By providing the government with information about the location of private arms, gun registries make it feasible for gun confiscation to take place in the future when the political and legal climate may have shifted. The only effective way to prevent the confiscation of firearms tomorrow is to deprive authorities of the means to do so today.

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Comment Of The Day

July 12, 2013 by



The comment of the day comes from Miguel at the Gun Free Zone blog. It is about the George Zimmerman trial. I have followed the case since the beginning but really haven’t commented much on it as others have done a much better job. The case is almost to a close with the defense as I write this is making its closing argument. I think this case is a travesty of justice as does Miguel.

So what we have now is a trial so tainted by prosecutorial misconduct and political pressure it has become something you see on TV about kangaroo courts in Third World countries, a very dangerous precedent to have. And I don’t care if you think Zimmerman is guilty and that he should spend the rest of his life in prison, this is not the way that a verdict of guilty should be achieved and we should not be accomplices on the travesty because it will make us feel better. If we let feelings corrupt our rights to a fair and impartial trial, you can bet your life it will be used against others and even yourself.

But by then it will be too late.

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Received In The Mail

July 11, 2013 by 1 Comment

Taking a page from the Instapundit who announces when he gets a new book, I just received in the mail Andrew Branca’s The Law of Self Defense. I’ve scanned it briefly and it is comprehensive. I look forward to reading it in detail and will have a review up afterwards.

Branca has been providing commentary and analysis for the past few weeks on the George Zimmerman trial in Florida at the Legal Insurrection blog. His critiques are excellent and a must read if you want to follow the Zimmerman trial without the cloud of media hype and misinformation.

Branca is offering 20% off on the book until such time as the jury returns a verdict in the Zimmerman trial. He is giving an additional 10% off if you are an IDPA or NRA member. You need to use this code – LOSD2-NRA – to get that discount. Branca, by the way, in addition to his legal practice in Massachusetts is a regular competitor in IDPA matches. If you buy the book directly from Branca, the price is currently at least $10 cheaper than Amazon.

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Bonidy v. USPS – A Win In Colorado

July 11, 2013 by 19 Comments

Judge Richard Matsch of the US District Court for the District of Colorado has ordered the US Postal Service to take all steps necessary to allow Tab Bonidy to park in the post office parking lot in Avon with a firearm in his car. This case, Bonidy et al v. USPS et al, has been through many twists and turns since it was first started in late 2010. The case was brought by attorney Jim Manley and the Mountain States Legal Foundation on behalf of Mr. Bonidy and the National Association for Gun Rights.

While this case was originally dismissed in 2011, Judge Matsch gave the plaintiffs leave to file an amended petition in April 2011. They did and this win is a result of that.

Judge Matsch in his Memorandum Opinion and Order concluded:

In sum, openly carrying a firearm outside the home is a liberty protected by the
Second Amendment. The Avon Post Office Building is a sensitive place and the ban
imposed by the USPS Regulation is a presumptively valid restriction of that liberty. The
Plaintiff has failed to present evidence to rebut that presumption. The parking lot adjacent to
the building is not a sensitive place and the Defendants have failed to show that an absolute
ban on firearms is substantially related to their important public safety objective. The public
interest in safety and Mr. Bonidy’s liberty can be accommodated by modifying the
Regulation to permit Mr. Bonidy to “have ready access to essential postal services” provided
by the Avon Post Office while also exercising his right to self-defense. Accordingly, it is

ORDERED, that the Defendants take such action as is necessary to permit Tab
Bonidy to use the public parking lot adjacent to the Avon Post Office Building with a firearm
authorized by his Concealed Carry Permit secured in his car in a reasonably prescribed
manner, and it is

FURTHER ORDERED, that the other claims of unconstitutionality of 39 C.F.R. §
232.1(l) made by Plaintiffs are denied.

Thus, while the Post Office is considered a sensitive place under the Heller dicta, the parking lot is not.

 The Mountain States Legal Foundation, as one might expect, is quite pleased with the result as well they should be.

DENVER, CO. A Colorado federal district court ruled today in favor of a Colorado man and a national gun rights group holding that a U.S. Postal Service regulation barring firearms in its parking lots violates their right to keep and bear arms under the Constitution. The district court ruled, “openly carrying a firearm outside the home is a liberty protected by the Second Amendment [and the] parking lot adjacent to [Avon’s Post Office Building] is not a sensitive place [such that] an absolute ban on firearms is substantially related to [Defendants’] important public safety objective.” Tab Bonidy, who is licensed to carry a handgun and regularly carries a handgun for self-defense, drives several miles from his home, where mail delivery is not available, to Avon to collect his mail. On arrival in Avon, however, he is barred by federal regulation from carrying a firearm, or parking his vehicle if it contains a firearm, on Postal Service land. In July 2010, Mr. Bonidy asked that the regulation be withdrawn; the Postal Service refused. Mr. Bonidy and the National Association for Gun Rights filed their lawsuit in October 2010.

“We are pleased the court struck down the Postal Service’s regulation as it applies to the Avon parking lot,” said William Perry Pendley of Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF); MSLF represents Mr. Bonidy and the group.

In 2007, the Postal Service renewed its total ban on firearms on Postal Service property, first promulgated in 1972:

“Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, rule or regulation, no person while on Postal property may carry firearms, other dangerous or deadly weapons, or explosives, either openly or concealed, or store the same on Postal property, except for official purposes.”

39 C.F.R. § 232.1(l). This regulatory prohibition, which carries a fine, imprisonment for 30 days, or both, is broader than the federal statute, which prohibits private possession of firearms in federal facilities, except those firearms carried “incident to hunting or other lawful purposes.” 18 U.S.C. § 930(d)(3). This statutory exception does not apply in federal court facilities, where a total ban is enforced. 18 U.S.C. § 930(e)(1).

The Postal Service’s total ban on firearms possession impairs the right to keep and bear arms as protected by the Second Amendment even when individuals are traveling to, from, or through Postal property because the Postal Service does not allow people to store a firearm safely in their vehicles. Anyone with a hunting rifle or shotgun in his car, or a handgun in his glove compartment for self-defense, violates the Postal Service ban by driving onto Postal Service property. Thus, the ban also denies the right to keep and bear arms everywhere a law-abiding gun owner travels before and after visiting Postal Service property.