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The Ranks Of Gun Owners Swelled On Black Friday In Illinois

December 3, 2011 by 2 Comments

While Illinois may be the only state that does not have some form of concealed carry, it was not left out of the rise in sales of firearms on Black Friday. According to WLS-TV in Chicago, the Illinois State Police reported a 42% increase in the number of applications for Firearms Owner ID (FOID) cards on Black Friday compared to last year. Almost 2,900 new applications were received for FOID cards this year. Bear in mind that these are NEW (would-be) gun owners because once you have a FOID card it covers all your guns and is good for 10 years.

However, and I think the reporter for WLS-TV doesn’t quite get Illinois firearms law, an application for a FOID card is not approved immediately. The State Police have up to 30 days to approve it and return it to you. Until you have a valid FOID card in hand, you can’t buy a firearm, ammunition, or a Taser.

This is from an email this evening from Thirdpower of Days of Our Trailers blog:

You can apply for your FOID through most FFL’s if they’re smart. It normally takes 3-4 weeks to get it through the ISP so while you could ‘purchase’ your firearm by perhaps putting down a down payment, you cannot actually fill out the 4473/NICS check until you have the FOID in your possession. Then there’s a 24hr waiting period for long guns and 72 hour for handguns.

We will have to wait until the NICS stats are out to get a better idea of just how much actual gun sales rose in Illinois during this period. Nonetheless, this many applications for FOID cards means another 2,900 gun owners are added to the rolls of gunowners in the Land of Lincoln. And THAT is a good thing.

Note: A big thanks to Kurt Hofmann, the St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner, and Thirdpower for answering my questions so quickly about Illinois gun law and FOID cards. I really appreciate their help!

Thirdpower put together this primer on Illinois gun laws a couple of years ago. It is a good starting place.

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49 States Say He’s Wrong

July 15, 2011 by

The local Fox affiliate in Chicago puts on a news show on Sundays called Fox Chicago Sunday. This past Sunday part of the discussion dealt with the SAF and NRA lawsuits challenging the prohibition of carry in any form in the state of Illinois.

One of the guests was Patrick Thompson, Chairman of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, who shared “why he believes allowing concealed carry would be a public safety disaster.” He starts out his weak argument by saying the Violence Policy Center has statistics that show crime doesn’t go down where concealed carry is allowed. Moreover, he holds that people are more likely to resort to the gun if concealed carry is allowed.

Unfortunately for Mr. Thompson, the experience in the rest of the United States – and especially in those states with shall-issue CCW – have proven him wrong. Of course, that doesn’t stop him from nattering on about how CCW is bad.

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Illinois Women Who Believe The Constitution Applies Even There

July 14, 2011 by

John Kass is an op-ed columnist for the Chicago Tribune. He has a reputation for sticking it to the powers that be in both Chicago and Illinois. His latest column is entitled Babes with Bullets and other women who believe the Constitution applies in Illinois. 

After noting that Gov. Scott Walker signed concealed carry into law in Wisconsin making Illinois the only state without concealed carry, he says –

And this means that Illinois is the only state without such a law. In Illinois, our Chicago aldermen can carry guns in their purses and even in ankle holsters, and criminals obviously carry guns, since breaking the law is what they do.

But the rest of us, the chumbolone law-abiding taxpayers, can’t carry.

I’m not desperate to carry a gun, but the fact that Illinois has exempted its citizens from the Individual Rights Sweepstakes is so constitutionally depressing that there’s only one sight that could cheer me up:

A few dozen women with Smith & Wesson handguns learning how to get lethal, with the help of top female shooters and instructors in firearm safety.

Those women with Smiths were attending a training session put on by Babes with Bullets in a suburban county near Chicago. Kass attended one of their sessions and talked with a number of the trainers as well as the participants. What struck him the most was how serious they were about learning.

A few minutes later, I watched the smart-alecky Analise and her cousins out on the firing range with top instructors, serious champion instructors like Lisa Munson and T.D. Roe, of Lemont, who teaches personal protection shooting.

And there was Kay Miculek, of Louisiana, another co-founder of Babes with Bullets. From now on, when I think of a serious person, I’ll think of her.

Miculek has many national titles, and her husband, Jerry, is one of the top shots. She’s middle aged, and I liked the way she worked with the young women, calm but serious, because what they were doing was serious.

He goes on to say that you can tell that in Kay Miculek’s hand a pistol is a tool and not a symbol. It is also a serious tool, he says, and the instruction from trainers like Kay Miculek is all about safety.

Kass concludes by saying:

They were serious women, taxpaying women, law-abiding moms and sisters and daughters and friends.

And they’re the women who have the audacity to believe that the Constitution applies to them, too, even in Illinois.

Something must in the water at the Tribune because this is the second column in so many weeks that takes a pro-gun approach. First Eric Zorn and now John Kass. Good.

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SAF Files For Preliminary Injunction Against Illinois In Carry Case

July 7, 2011 by

The Second Amendment Foundation filed for a preliminary injunction today in their case, Moore v. Madigan, challenging the State of Illinois’s ban on all forms of carry. Their release on it is below. Let me say this – no grass grows under their legal feet!

BELLEVUE, WA – Capitalizing on its federal appeals court victory Wednesday in Ezell v. City of Chicago, the Second Amendment Foundation today moved for a preliminary injunction against the State of Illinois to prevent further enforcement of that state’s prohibitions on firearms carry in public by law-abiding citizens.

The motion was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois in Springfield. Joining SAF in this motion are Illinois Carry and four private citizens, Michael Moore, Charles Hooks, Peggy Fechter and Jon Maier. The underlying case is known as Moore v. Madigan.

Illinois is the only state in the nation with such prohibitions. The state neither allows open carry or concealed carry, which runs afoul of recent U.S. Supreme Court Second Amendment rulings, including last year’s landmark ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago, another SAF case. SAF was represented in McDonald and Ezell by attorney Alan Gura, who noted after yesterday’s appeals court win – forcing a temporary injunction against the city’s ban on gun ranges that the city immediately changed after the decision was announced – that “Even Chicago politicians must respect the people’s fundamental civil rights…Gun rights are coming to Chicago. The only question is how much the city’s intransigence will cost taxpayers along the way.”

“Now that the Seventh Circuit has recognized that the deprivation of the right of armed self-defense is an inherently irreparable injury, it is clear that Illinois’ law-abiding gun owners are entitled to a protective injunction,” said attorney David Jensen of New York, who, along with Glen Ellyn, IL attorney David Sigale, is representing SAF and the other plaintiffs.

“Yesterday’s win was a wake-up call to Chicago,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “Today’s motion is a signal to the Illinois Legislature that the state’s total ban on carrying of firearms for personal protection is counter to both Supreme Court rulings on the Second Amendment, and yesterday’s ruling by the Seventh Circuit appeals panel that shredded Chicago’s gun ordinance. Our victory Wednesday and today’s motion are key components of SAF’s overall mission to win back firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time.”

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Status Of Concealed Carry In Illinois

May 27, 2011 by

Richard Pearson is the Executive Director of the Illinois State Rifle Association. He is on the front line every day in Illinois dealing with the legislature and fighting for gun rights. He released this yesterday regarding concealed carry and HB 148. Also, see Don Moran’s note that ISRA’s fight against the Cook County Assault Weapons Ban is continuing.

There has been a great deal of conjecture out there about what we are going to do after placing HB148 on postponed consideration. First let me explain what postponed consideration means.

It simply means the sponsor with drew the bill before the vote could be recorded. The bill is still alive and will be until the second Wednesday in January 2013. This means we can bring the bill back during veto session, next session, or next veto session.

You will not see HB148 brought up again before May 31st ,which is the end of the Spring 2011 session. There is no way to do it and have any better results. Long before the vote it was decided that if the bill did not pass we would sue the State of Illinois over the inability of Illinois citizens to defend themselves outside of their home. Illinois is the only state that does not allow either open carry or concealed carry. We have now begun the legal challenges to the Illinois laws with the NRA. The is another challenge from the Second Amendment Foundation on a similar basis. Illinois is now facing two law suits over the inability of Illinois citizens being able to defend themselves outside their homes. Brandon Phelps the CCW sponsor warned the House of Representatives that they would be in court if the bill was not passed. Within seven days we delivered on that promise. If we get CCW by court order I am happy with that. If it comes by court order the legislature will have to still enact some legislation but they will find their hands are tied. We offered a good bill and they turned it down.

These lawsuits will take time to make their way through the court system. There is a great deal of work that goes into these suits every day before they are heard in court. It is not a simple thing to file a law suit. There is always on going work behind the scenes. Be patient.

We promised that in 2011 we would get a up and down vote on CCW and we did. We had
to probe and find out the other side’s strengths, weakness, and reactions. We have done that. There were a few surprises but not many. We have a lot of work to do in the next few months. This effort has taken a toll on our resources and our energy. We have to develop new strategies and reinforce old ones that work. We are not quitting. Remember we fiercely believe in the Second Amendment and the right to self defense. We will win this battle. As I reminded one of our opponents – “You don’t defeat us- we just fall back reload and attack again.”

Note by Don Moran, ISRA President: This summer will see a lot of activity in relation to HB-148 and all the pending litigation ISRA is involved in, Ezell v Chicago (Chicago range suit), Wilson v Cook County (Cook County Assault Weapon Ban), ISRA v ISP (FOID Privacy), and ISRA v Madigan (Carry suit). It is very important that we are able to contact as many of you and your friends as possible quickly when action is needed. I know you get tired of hearing it, but funding all this
requires constant vigilance as well. We’ve put on even more lobbyists this year and we are now involved in an incredible amount of litigation on behalf of Illinois firearm owners. When people ask you, who is the ISRA, or what has ISRA done for me lately, let them know all of the above, and then ask them what have they are doing for the fight RIGHT NOW? We need their help as well.

UPDATE: Wilson v Cook County, the ISRA’s suit seeking to overturn the
Cook County Assault Weapon ban, was granted leave to appeal by the Illinois
Supreme Court yesterday, meaning the Court will hear the case.

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Mary Shepard – Victim Of A Thug And Chicago Politicians

May 14, 2011 by 9 Comments

Mary Shepard is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit brought by the National Rifle Association and the Illinois State Rifle Association against the State of Illinois for denying Ms. Shepard the right to defend herself.

If there was ever a plaintiff who could make the case for needing to defend oneself with a firearm, it is Mary Shepard. Back in 2009 when she was 69 years old, she and 76 year old Leona Mount were the victims of a vicious beating attack. They were attacked by Willis Bates as he was burglarizing the Anna (IL) First Baptist Church where both ladies worked. The Associate Baptist Press gives this description of their injuries:

Arrest warrants claim that Bates repeatedly kicked the heads and bodies of Shepherd, the church treasurer, and Mount, a maintenance worker, before getting away with less than $600.

Both women were taken by ambulance to Union County Hospital in Anna and airlifted to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Shepard remained there, while Mount was transferred to St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis. Both women are expected to recover, a fact that church members are calling a miracle.

Shepard’s injuries included a skull fracture, concussion and a possible broken bone in her right cheek. She was moved from the trauma unit to the ICU for observation and later transferred to a regular room. She has since been released from the hospital and is recuperating at home.

Surgery was scheduled Oct. 8 for Mount to begin to repair a broken nose, numerous facial fractures, jaw fractures and a fractured palate. Medical staff at St. Louis University told family members the injuries were like nothing they had ever seen. Despite that, she reportedly suffered no damage to her brain or eyes.

The video above is a report from WSIL Channel 3 back in October 2009 announcing Bates’ arrest. Bates was given a 23 year sentence for two counts of attempted murder. He had previously served 7 years in Illinois prisons for residential burglary. Here is his Illinois Department of Corrections rap sheet including a current picture.

Even before this horrific beating, Mary Shepard, now aged 71, had obtained concealed carry permits from the states of Pennsylvania and Florida. According to IllinoisCarry, Ms. Shepard had taken five firearms training courses including Personal Protection Outside the Home. However, because Illinois law forbids concealed or open carry, she was unarmed when attacked by 6’4″, 240 lb. psychopath Willis Bates. Ms. Shepard discusses the attack, her injuries, the aftermath, and her firearms training which if she was allowed to carry for self-defense could have prevented these horrible injuries in an video made for IllinoisCarry.

The Cook County politicians who kept Mary Shepard defenseless in the face of the attack by Willis Bates should be forced to watch this video. Of course that is a futile hope but perhaps one day – whether by court order or by legislation – the good people of Illinois will be allowed to protect themselves in public with a firearm.

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Divergent Editorials On Concealed Carry In Illinois

May 5, 2011 by

With HB 148 – the Illinois right-to-carry bill – probably coming up for a vote today, I thought it would be interesting to contrast the divergent viewpoints on the issue from Chicago and Southern Illinois newspapers.

The Chicago Tribune ran an editorial on Wednesday entitled “Street Heat? Say No”. The editorial does acknowledge that Illinois is an outlier when it comes to concealed carry but then goes on to say “Outlier or not, we still think it would be a mistake to encourage people to walk around with guns.”

The Tribune editorial glosses over the research that shows crime rates decline or, at the very least, do not go up when concealed carry laws are implemented.

Bottom line: Concealed-carry laws don’t seem to have a significant impact on violence one way or the other. The odds aren’t much greater that you’re going to wind up successfully defending yourself with a gun on the street, or that you’re going to mistakenly or intentionally plug somebody with a bullet. There are cases, though, where licensed holders do commit violence.

They claim the HB 148’s authors recognize the potential for “mayhem” by restricting where concealed carry would be allowed under the bill. They then go on to attack all the places where concealed carry would be allowed.

Finally, despite being endorsed by the Illinois Sheriffs Association and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police along with organizations for the Chicago PD’s sergeants and lieutenants, the editorial claims CCW  raises public safety concerns for local cops. I believe that by this they mean the hierarchy of the Chicago Police Department and no one else. They conclude their editorial opposing CCW by saying:

We see more problems here. The background check procedures for issuing a state firearm owner’s identification card are not foolproof. The state lacks enough control over the private sale of guns.

This bill needs an extraordinary majority to pre-empt local authority and to survive a veto from the governor. We urge lawmakers to reject it. The safety and well-being of the people of Illinois doesn’t start with the power to pack heat on the street.

In stark contrast to this fear-mongering editorial from the Chicago Tribune is an editorial in today’s Belleville News-Democrat. They take strong exception to Governor Pat Quinn playing the “fear card” when he says concealed carry will “to more danger and more bad things happening.”

That line might work if Illinois were the first state to consider concealed carry. But 48 of the 50 states already have concealed carry, with no horrible impact on public safety. That’s because the people who apply for a concealed-carry permits and are willing to undergo the required background checks and training are not the people out robbing and killing. They want this law to enhance public safety, not hurt it.

Whether HB 148 would improve safety is a matter for debate, but it’s safe to say that passage of the bill would not make Illinois a more dangerous place.

While stopping short of endorsing the bill, the editorial recognizes that CCW will not make Illinois like the so-called Wild West and that criminals are already carrying concealed. It is interesting to note of the nine comments on this editorial, eight support concealed carry and only one opposes it.

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Concealed Carry In Illinois – David and Colleen Lawson’s View

May 2, 2011 by 1 Comment

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting both David and Colleen Lawson in Pittsburgh at the NRA Annual Meeting. They attended the Second Amendment Blog Bash on Thursday night. I thanked them both for being plaintiffs in McDonald et al v. Chicago et al.

While I did speak a bit with David, I spent more time with Colleen. She is extremely charming and engaging. You knew from the get-go that she was passionate about concealed carry and about being able to protect her children. Part of the story the Lawsons relate below she shared with me in Pittsburgh. I find it hard to believe that she and David were the only two who wanted concealed carry in Rep. John D’Amico’s district.

If you live in Illinois and read this blog, please make the effort to call your representative as the Lawsons request below. It is important if you want a chance at the right to carry in the State of Illinois.

HB148 – A personal message from Colleen and David Lawson

Dear ISRA members,
As you may know, my husband and I were two of the four Chicago resident plaintiffs in the historic McDonald v. Chicago lawsuit that the ISRA and SAF successfully brought against Chicago’s draconian handgun regulations.

Unfortunately, that has not stopped our family from being victims of armed crime outside of our homes. Even with that legislation, all of our children have been victims of armed criminals; not once, but numerous times. Now that we can legally possess handguns in our homes, David and I are actively pushing for Right-to-Carry in Illinois.

Currently we have a Right-to-Carry bill in front of our state legislators. This bill is numbered HB-148 and is titled “The Family and Personal Protection Act”.

HB-148 is expected to be voted on in less than a week. As the only state in the entire country without any legislation allowing any form of right to carry provision for law-abiding citizens, David and I cannot stress enough how critical this vote will be for us and for you and your families.

This is the closest we have ever come to a possibility of having this civil right finally restored in our lives.

In order for the bill to pass into law, we must have a majority of 71 votes of “Yes!” from our State Representatives.

Governor Quinn has vowed to veto HB-148 if it should pass the house, though lately he has come away from that position and says he will give our bill its due consideration. With 71 yes votes, Governor Quinn’s veto cannot stand, and we who live in the only American state that guarantees its victims to be legally powerless against criminals – can finally remove that guarantee and defend ourselves and our families on the streets of Illinois.

How can we get these yes votes? There is only one way: And that is for YOU to call. And call again. And call again. It is no secret that Chicago area legislators are the ones who have consistently stopped RTC. But with the Heller and McDonald decisions, more Chicagoans than ever are waking up to the fact that RTC is a civil right, and a vital legislation, and that denying it to Illinoisans is wrong and harmful. David and I plead with you now: Don’t let Chicago’s wake-up call go unanswered.

At many of our 2nd Amendment speaking opportunities, Illinois gun rights supporters have promised to stand with us in our battle against Chicago’s anti-gun tyranny. Now is the time for us to call in those markers. We desperately need Chicago area state Representatives to hear from pro-gun constituents.

The lobbyists and volunteers from NRA, ISRA and IllinoisCarry have spent many, many hours working with pro-2nd-amendment legislators on HB-148. The lobbyists, volunteers and sponsoring legislators have spent further time talking with the representatives who are undecided. I personally spent two days in Springfield last week, speaking with as many senators and reps as I could reach, and from those who were undecided – or against – this bill, I heard the same two responses time and again.

1) I’m afraid it will bring the ‘wild west’ and
2) My constituents don’t want it.

You already know that RTC does not bring the ‘wild west’. Now please take the time to call your IL State Representative and tell him or her that you DO want RTC in Illinois – you DO want HB-148.

Our family resides in IL House District 15, which is the district for Representative John D’Amico. This district encompasses parts of northwest Chicago, Lincolnwood, and Morton Grove, and other communities.

Rep. D’Amico called me directly this week and told me that my husband and I are his only two constituents in favor of Right-to-Carry (HB-148) and that every other constituent is opposed.

He also told assured me that “no one is walking around carrying handguns in my district!” despite the fact that he and I had just minutes before discussed several instances where my family members were robbed at gun-point, directly across the street from D’Amico’s Chicago district office and before that, just one block east of his office.

I would like D’Amico to receive enough of your calls, on the record, that he cannot possibly say that he has never received a call in support of RTC. If you are in the 15th District, please call John D’Amico at (217) 782-8198.

For those in other districts, you can find your Representative at http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByZip.aspx.

Remember to be polite, as you will most likely be speaking to an over-worked admin and also, you are all 2nd Amendment Ambassadors.

Now is the time to stand up for our 2nd Amendment rights as we only have a few days remaining before the vote will be called on HB-148.

Thank you so much,
Colleen and David Lawson

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Prospects For Concealed Carry In Illinois Improve

April 7, 2011 by 1 Comment

In the past, concealed carry bills have tended to have more support in the Illinois House than in the Illinois Senate. CCW bills have in the past been sent to the Senate Public Health Committee which is dominated by Senators from Chicago. They have died in committee as a result.

This year may be different.

Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) said in an interview Tuesday with WSIL-TV in Carbondale that if concealed carry passes the House and there is enough support in the Senate the bill would get a vote.

Tuesday in Carbondale, Cullerton indicated that even though he is opposed to “people having loaded weapons on them,” he would consider assigning the bill to another committee.

Noting that concealed carry has not fared well in the Public Health committee, Cullerton said, “If it does pass the House, if we have enough folks that want to have a vote on the Senate floor we can have that vote.”

While the Illinois House just defeated state pre-emption by not passing that bill with a great enough majority, concealed carry looks it might have enough to pass. Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg) is quoted in the same Chicago Tribune article about concealed carry.

Also today, Rep. Brandon Phelps said he is close to pulling together 71 votes to pass his proposal to allow people to carry a concealed weapon. But Phelps, D-Harrisburg, said he doesn’t plan on calling the bill for a vote until the House returns from its break in late April, giving him time to refine the measure.

“We’re three to four votes short right now,” Phelps said. “But now that all the law enforcement groups are for it, they’re talking about it more and more. But there is definitely a big push from the city of Chicago right now trying to beat this – a huge push.”

Again, as with all things concerning guns in Illinois, it is Chicago versus the rest of the state.

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Why I Don’t Live In Illinois

March 16, 2011 by 2 Comments

The Complementary Spouse’s mother lives in O’Fallon, Illinois and her father is buried there. O’Fallon is a pleasant little town about 20 miles east of St. Louis. It is also the home of Scott Air Force Base. I like going out to visit and enjoy the solid, mid-western atmosphere of the town and its people.

I couldn’t live there.

The guns laws of the State of Illinois and the impact on the politics of the state from Chicago would drive me nuts. Thanks to a story on the IllinoisCarry forum linked by Thirdpower at Days of our Trailers blog, I have another reason.

A good friend of mine received his AZ ccw application yesterday. He filled it out and then went to the Champaign police department this morning to get fingerprinted. He was denied because they said they will not do fingerprints for ccw apps from any state because IL is not a carry state. He informed them that he is aware that IL is not a carry state, that the AZ license is not honored here and that it is a felony to exercise the right to bear arms in IL.

He explained that he is wanting to get this AZ permit because it is honored in IN where he spends a great deal of time along with about 28 other states. They still would not print him.

He asked so you’re telling me that there are gang bangers on W Bradly right now carrying handguns that are not old enough to possess a handgun by federal law, do not have a FOID or even know what a FOID is and they’re committing crimes, killing people and raping women, meanwhile I a tax paying, law abiding citizen am standing here in the Champaign police department trying to do the right thing knowing full well that after I get these prints, fill out this application, pay $60 for app and $30 for the prints I still won’t be able to carry in IL but am still being denied just getting a set of fingerprints done?

The answer was YES. We do not do fingerprints for ccw apps because IL is not a carry state. They also told him that no law agency in IL will do this for the same reason. He explained that that was false because he knows dozens of people who have out of state ccw permits that required fingerprints.

Finally it was admitted that this was a decision that was made a couple years ago specifically within the Champaign police department and it was made by “the people upstairs”.

My friend is a bit frustrated as a citizen, as a tax payer and as a law abiding citizen who is just trying to do the right thing.

Another person on the IllinoisCarry forum followed up with the Champaign Police Department on their refusal to do fingerprinting for a person to obtain an out-of-state CCW permit. He spoke with a lady in their records department.

She acknowledged that CPD will not print for any CCW permits “because it’s illegal in IL”.

I pointed out that these were forms necessary for other states to conduct their business and why was it a problem for them to fill out print cards for other states.

“It’s an ethical issue,” she replied.

I asked who made that decision not to print “for ethical issues”. She didn’t have a name.

Ethical issue? I must live on another planet from the decision makers in this police department. I would consider it unethical to refuse to provide the fingerprinting services. Arrgh!