illinois

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Tool And Die Maker Moves Into Arms Manufacturing

July 5, 2013 by 5 Comments

Mennie Machine Company started as a tool and die maker in the founder’s garage. Now it is a major parts manufacturer for numerous large companies such as Caterpillar and Cummins. The problem with only being a part maker is that your company is at the mercy of other company’s success or lack thereof.

One way to protect your company is to diversify. As Bloomberg News reports, Mennie Machine Company is doing just that but not in way that most companies might go. They are beginning to make their own AR-15s in their plant in Mark, Illinois which is about 100 miles southwest of Chicago. They have been an AR component manufacturer for a number of years now and already have their FFL. Mennie believes that going into arms manufacturing will give it more reliable revenues.

(David)Mennie expects firearms to generate more reliable revenue that would insulate it from economic downturns. Eventually, they could account for as much as 25 percent of its business, he said.

The factory cut its workforce of 330 in half after the recession that began in December 2007. The company, with $45 million in sales last year, was looking for steady income, “something to have some long-term growth,” Mennie said. “That’s what pushed us into this.”

Their new division is called MMC Armory. According to their website, MMC Armory has three versions of their AR-15 ready to go. As the interview below makes clear, MMC Armory will be making their own barrels, receivers, and bolt carrier groups.

It is this last part that really intrigues me as, from what I’ve heard and read, they have been in short supply and are a major sticking point in production schedules. Making their own full-auto rated nickel-boron coated BCGs will certainly give them a competitive advantage. A lot of companies make AR lowers; not a lot make bolt carrier groups.

The company also has plans to design and manufacture their own handgun in 9mm. I think they may find this a bit more difficult than ARs given the component nature of ARs and the loyalty that many gun owners feel towards their particular handgun.

This will be interesting to watch. As it is, I wouldn’t mind trying out their MA 15 Tactical which guarantees .75 MOA and weighs only 6.1 lbs.

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Gun Prohibitionists Waste No Time In Illinois

July 3, 2013 by 2 Comments

The gun prohibitionists were out in force yesterday in Illinois in support of Gov. Pat Quinn’s amendatory veto of HB 183. Perhaps the leading gun prohibitionists group in the state is the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence (sic) led by Colleen Daley. (I don’t know if she is related to Richard and Bill Daley or not). Gov. Quinn featured them prominently in his little soiree’ announcing his amendatory veto.

Daley and ICHV wasted no time in getting out a plea to their supporters along with a a chance to donate to their efforts. This tells me that the grassroots will be vitally important in getting the veto overridden. Our side knows it and so do the gun prohibitionist forces.

Dear Friend,

Today, Governor Pat Quinn stood with community leaders and concerned citizens as he announced his amendatory veto of HB 183, the Concealed Carry legislation that passed in the waning hours of the Spring Session of the General Assembly.

The Governor heard our concerns and made changes that make public safety a top priority!

The Amendatory Veto recognizes that guns and alcohol do not mix and bans guns in any place the serves alcohol. It also requires businesses to opt-in as opposed to opt-out if they would like guns in their establishment, it limits a license holder to carrying ONE gun and ONE magazine that can hold no more than 10 rounds, and removes the provision restricting home rule municipalities regulation of assault weapons.

To read the Governor’s changes click here.

The General Assembly is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, July 9th to deal with the amendatory veto. Representative Brandon Phelps, the sponsor of the bill has already filed a motion to override the Governor’s veto. Please call you legislators now and ask them to vote “NO” on the override attempt. Tell them you stand with Governor Quinn and support his amendatory veto of HB 183!

To find your legislators click here

The Governor has also created a website to make it easy for people to review the changes he has proposed. Visit the site by clicking here.

Call now and stand for common sense gun laws.

In Peace,

Colleen Daley

Executive Director

Here are Daley’s comments from yesterday. You will note she was the first speaker after Gov. Quinn finished his announcement of the amendatory veto.

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ISRA On Quinn’s Amendatory Veto

July 3, 2013 by

The Illinois State Rifle Association is taking a dim view of Gov. Pat Quinn’s amendatory veto of HB 183 which provides for that state’s concealed carry. They are asking people who live in Illinois to contact their legislators and ask them to vote to override the amendatory veto. Given that the bill was passed in both houses of the Illinois General Assembly by veto-proof majorities, it is essential that those who voted for the initial bill vote continue to vote to override.

From ISRA Alert:

GOVERNOR QUINN’S SOFT SPOT FOR CRIMINALS RESULTS IN VETO OF CONCEALED CARRY

As many of you know by now, Governor Quinn today issued an amendatory veto of HB0183, otherwise known as Concealed Carry. In issuing his veto, Quinn renders HB0183 essentially worthless from a self-defense perspective.

Under Quinn’s amendments to the bill, most public locations would be “off limits” for concealed carry. Furthermore, firearms would have to be carried in a closed container out of the view of the public. Making concealed carry even more impractical is Quinn’s restriction limiting licensees to one firearm and no more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Quinn’s amendatory veto contains a whole host of other restrictions that are aimed not only at hindering concealed carry, but also at suppressing the citizen’s right to keep and bear arms in general.

Although Quinn claims his veto is in the interest of public safety, the truth of the matter is that Quinn is using HB0183 as a vehicle to punish firearm owners. Quinn’s motives were made abundantly clear by his decision to surround himself with anti-gun extremists as he announced his veto. Quinn even stood side by side with Fr. Michael Pfleger, the Catholic priest who has openly called for gun shop owners and pro-gun elected officials to be dragged into the streets and murdered.

The bottom line is this: if Quinn’s amendatory veto of HB0183 is not overturned, law-abiding gun owners will have fewer rights than they had before HB0183 was even drafted. Yes, that’s right; HB0183 has been transformed into a gun control bill.

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO SAVE CONCEALED CARRY AND SAVE YOUR GUNS

1. Immediately phone your State Representative AND your State Senator and politely tell the person who answers the phone that you are a law abiding firearm owner who wishes to see Governor Quinn’s amendatory veto of HB0183 overturned. Phone lines will be busy, but keep trying until you get through. If you do not know who your Senator or Representative is, the Illinois State Board of Elections has an interactive search page here:
www.elections.state.il.us/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx

If you know who your state legislators are, you can find their contact info here:
www.ilga.gov/house/ and www.ilga.gov/senate/ .

2. Pass this alert on to your friends and family and ask them to call too.

3. Post this Alert to any and all Internet blogs or bulletin boards to which you belong.

4. Take the time to sign up a new ISRA member. ISRA needs the continued support of Illinois gun owners.

If you remain silent, you are giving Quinn tacit approval of his gun control folly.

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Amendatory Veto Expected In Illinois (Updated)

July 2, 2013 by 4 Comments

Gov. Pat Quinn (D-IL) is expected to issue an amendatory veto of the Illinois carry bill HB 183. Looking at the LiveStream of the event which starts at 11am CDT, it is packed with little kids holding “Moms Demand Action” posters and other anti-gun propaganda.

On the IllinoisCarry.com forum, Todd Vandermyde has posted his expectations of what the amendatory veto will contain. They include:

The Governor is rumored to be making several changes to the bill which would include:


  • · Limiting individuals to carrying a single handgun with a single magazine and no more than 10 rounds of ammo.
  • · Changing the definition to where the handgun must be completely concealed as opposed to concealed or mostly concealed
  • · Banning carry in any place that serves alcohol except private clubs and residence. This would nullify the restaurant carry provisions of the bill.
  • · Inverting the no carry posting to make carry permissible only in places that post it is OK to carry a concealed firearm
  • · Allowing employers to ban firearms on their property and negate the safe harbor provisions.
  • · Remove the ability of individuals to get out of their vehicle and store their handguns in the trunk of their vehicle


Look for the Legislature to move to override the veto when they come back the 8th or 9th.

 Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg) expects the veto to be overridden.

State Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Harrisburg Democrat, said the governor’s office told him Quinn will sign an amended bill Tuesday — seven days before a July 9 deadline to legalize carry of weapons after a federal appeals court found Illinois’ last-in-the-nation ban unconstitutional.

Phelps said he was not told what will be changed but said he likely would try to override any amendments to the hard-won compromise.

 I’ll have more as it is announced.

UPDATE:  As expected, Quinn issued an amendatory veto of  HB 183. He noted that he still objects to the decision of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Shepard v. Madigan and Moore v. Madigan.

Quinn said that HB 183 has “serious flaws” and that he is proposing some “commonsense” revisions under his power to issue an amendatory veto. They include most of what Todd Vandermyde had said would be coming.

They are in order from my notes:

  1. Ban on carry in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol
  2. The bill’s limits on home rule regarding “assault weapons” (sic) would be removed. corrected
  3. Changes the posting requirement from requiring business owners to post if carry is banned to one in which they would post if allowed.
  4. Employers can ban firearms in employee cars in their parking lots.
  5. A concealed carry permit holder would be restricted to one firearms with one 10-round (maximum) magazine.
  6. Would mandate that the Illinois State Police have more access to mental health records to prevent those who with a “clear and present danger” of having a permit.
  7. Absolute concealment is required.
  8. The Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board would be subject to both the Open Meetings Act and the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
  9. Would require immediate disclosure to law enforcement if you are carrying concealed.

Quinn blamed the “errors” in the bill on the “hurried” process which was the fault of the National Rifle Association.

Quinn’s letter to the legislature announcing his amendatory veto is found here.

He announced a new state funded website called Keep Illinois Safe which will have more information on his veto. The website is now live and it can be found here.

The rest of the news conference consists of gun prohibitionists prattling on about “gun violence” (sic) and I have stopped watching.

UPDATE II: The full text of Quinn’s amendatory veto including the actual changes is now on the General Assembly’s website. It is located here. The bill has now been placed on the House calendar.

UPDATE III: Reaction from the Democrats in the Illinois State Senate on the Illinois Senate Democrats webpage to the amendatory veto is uniformly critical of Quinn. I am actually surprised at this uniformity but note that Cook County senators have not yet been heard from.

Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) “I am disappointed—but not surprised—Governor Quinn waited so long to veto concealed carry while he tried to score political points. Even though he has put lawmakers in a difficult position, I am optimistic that we will be able to override his veto and finally get a law on the books.”

Senator Bill Haine (D-Alton) “I would hope that we quickly get this matter before the General Assembly and have an opportunity to override the veto, allowing the State Police to begin the conceal carry process for trained, law-abiding citizens.”

Senator Mike Jacobs (D-Moline) “I recently signed a letter with my colleagues asking Governor Pat Quinn to act on House Bill 183. I am disappointed in the governor’s action to veto the bipartisan concealed-carry measure passed by the General Assembly in May. We need a concealed-carry law that applies to all gun owners equally, regardless of where you live.”

Senator John Sullivan (D-Rushville) “I’m disappointed but not surprised with the governor’s actions today on the concealed carry legislation. He has ignored the will of the people, the courts and the General Assembly. I will work strenuously to see that the veto is overridden so Illinois, even though last to do so, will finally allow concealed carry.”

 UPDATE IV: Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg) has filed a motion in the House to override Gov. Quinn’s amendatory veto.

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Moves By Illinois Towns On Gun Control

July 1, 2013 by

The Illinois State Rifle Association has released an alert on six town councils or boards that will be considering firearms restrictions in the next couple of days. If you live in one of these towns, I’d urge you to make your presence felt at the board meeting. I’ve included the links to the various agenda and meeting packets.

From ISRA:


UPDATED ALERT – FIVE board meetings with gun regulations on the agenda for Monday, July 1, one for Tuesday July 2

Skokie, Wheeling, Lake Forest, North Chicago to present gun bans

UPDATE: On Monday, July 1, Skokie, Wheeling, Lake Forest, North Chicago and Deerfield appear to be considering new local ordinances at their next council meetings on Monday. It is important that residents be there at these meetings to voice their opposition by addressing the board. If you live in any of these communities, it is essential that you go to that meeting — don’t leave the protection of your civil rights to someone else! If your community is not having a meeting on July 1, please attend one of these listed below. Be sure to arrive early to ensure that you gain entrance to the meeting.

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 .

High Profile Meeting: Skokie is expected to be the meeting to watch due to strong anti-gun & pro-gun sentiments expressed by its residents. Be sure to wear your IGOLD apparel, ISRA or NRA hats, etc so that you can be recognized by the press. Get there early, please.

Please forward this alert to your mailing list and post it on your favorite forum.

Please be aware of what’s going on in your community. If your town was not listed here, please contact your local city government and inquire about the next council meeting and the latest agenda. If you hear of more local attempts to pass an “Assault Weapon Ban” in another community, please contact the ISRA office at 815-635-3198 or send an email to the ISRA Hotline (hotline@isra.org) and pass along the info. Alert members have helped ISRA to keep you informed

Veterans: Are you a veteran of our armed forces? Your oath and your prior service to our country gives you a unique vantage point to speak from. Please attend a local meeting and provide feedback to the local officials.

What: Skokie Village Board Meeting – Agenda – Packet (p50)
Where: Village Hall 5127 Oakton Street, Skokie 60077
When: Monday, July 1, 8:00 pm

What: Wheeling Village Board Meeting – Agenda+Packet (p38)
Where: 2 Community Boulevard, Wheeling 60090
When: Monday, July 1, 6:30 pm

What: Deerfield Village Board Meeting – Agenda (p157) (p5 comments)
Semi-auto storage ordinance
Where: 850 Waukegan Road Deerfield 60015
When: Monday, July 1, 7:30 pm

What: Lake Forest City Council Meeting – Agenda
Where: 220 E. Deerpath Lake Forest 60045
When: Monday, July 1, 7:30 pm

What: North Chicago City Council Meeting – Agenda
Where: 1850 Lewis Ave, North Chicago 60064
When: Monday, July 1, 7:00 pm

What: Bartlett Village Board Meeting – Agenda (COW)
Gun Ban Discussion – Agenda
Where: 228 S. Main Street, Bartlett, 60103
When: Tuesday, July 2, 7:00 pm

UPDATE: Here are the results of some of the meetings from yesterday.


Skokie — passed AWB

 
North Chicago — passed AWB
 
Lake Forest — tabled with contemplation of placeholder ordinance
 
Wheeling — voted down
 
Orland Park — nothing on agenda

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ISRA: “Enough Is Enough” (Updated)

June 25, 2013 by

The Illinois State Rifle Associations issued an urgent alert this afternoon about a number of city and town council meetings scheduled to enact new gun bans. The rush to pass these new bans are a result of the recent passage of concealed carry in Illinois.

From ISRA:


For the past 6 months or so, law-abiding gun owners like you have been the targets of an intense campaign of vilification, slander and misrepresentation from the likes of Obama, Biden, Bloomberg, Simon and Quinn. The gun grabbers have blamed you for mass murders, terrorist attacks on movie theaters and malls, and even the bombing of the Boston Marathon.

And now, the anti-gunners are trying to hijack concealed carry legislation and transform it into a massive gun control scheme that will result in the banning and confiscation of most of the guns you own. Wait, but that’s not all. . . the gun-haters’ plan for concealed carry also includes licensing, registration and the surrender of your privacy – whether you apply for a permit or not.

As a law-abiding gun owner you should be sick and tired of all this nonsense. It’s time for all of you to stand up and declare, “. . .enough is enough!” It’s time to confront the gun grabbers and force them to stand down from their attacks on your constitutional rights.

You will have several opportunities this week to go and snatch your rights back from those who would toss your guns into the furnace if they had a chance. Several suburbs are considering bans on semiautomatic target rifles, pistols and shotguns. If passed, these local ordinances will spread like a cancer. No matter where you live, you have a vested interest in what happens in the board rooms of these city and village councils. Here is a listing of meetings where local gun-grabs will be debated this week:

1. Highland Park, IL. 1707 St. John’s Avenue, Monday, June 24, 2013, 7:30 PM (be there by 6:30 PM). Topic: semiautomatic firearm ban.

2. Evanston, IL. City Hall, 2100 Ridge Avenue, Monday, June 24, 2013, 7:15 PM (be there by 6:30 PM). Topic: semiautomatic firearm ban.

3. Melrose Park, IL. Police Station, One North Broadway, Monday, June 24, 2013, 6:00 PM (be there by 5:15 PM). Topic: semiautomatic firearm ban.

4. St. Charles, IL. City Council Chambers, 2 E. Main Street, Monday, June 24, 2013, 7:00 PM (be there by 6:15 PM). Topic: semiautomatic firearm ban.

5. Park Ridge, IL. City Hall, 505 Butler Place, Monday, June 24, 2013, 7:00 PM (be there by 6:15 PM). Topic: semiautomatic firearm ban.

6. Berwyn, IL. City Hall, 6700 26th Street, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, 8:00 PM (be there by 7:15 PM). Topic: semiautomatic firearm ban.

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO SAVE YOUR GUNS

1. No matter where you live, you should plan on attending the closest meeting to you. Be prepared to bring a friend or two. Wear iGOLD hats and t-shirts. If you see members of the media, approach them and tell them that you are a law-abiding gun owner who is sick and tired of having others carelessly work to destroy your rights.

2. Take careful notes of what happens during the meeting. Take notes of who you talk to, what the topic of the discussion was, and note what is told to you by the other person.

3. Pass this alert on to your friends and family – ask them to attend as well.

4. Please post this alert to any and all Internet bulletin boards and blogs to which you may belong.

IN CLOSING:

It’s time to launch a major counteroffensive against the gun control movement. This is the week to do it. Please plan on attending one of these meetings.

Remember, Gun Control is a disease – you’re the cure.

UPDATE: Here is a list of updates on what transpired at the council meetings in Illinois yesterday. 

Park Ridge:  Meeting was postponed until JULY 8th 7:00pm. Power outage due to storms. Report of good turn out.







Highland Park: ban passed 6-1


Evanston: good turn out reports say 2-1 for us. No action likely tonight.
St Charles: Standing room only and Chief
Lamkin’s presentation was moved to the first order of business. The
forum gravitated to discussion of an AWB, but bottom line…not in St.
Charles
River Forest: No report
Marengo: “After what I heard this evening,
I doubt the City Council would vote for a ban,” Mayor Donald Lockhart
say. “There doesn’t seem to be support for a ban.”
Melrose Park: No report
West Chicago: (dupage county)
30 or so showed up for us and every committee member was totally opposed to any legislation and recommended that nothing should be pursued.
Park Forest (cook county)- no gun ban on the agenda
The Mayor of Park Forest has responded to inquiries, and there is nothing on the agenda at this time.


St. Charles: (Kane County)
From:J. Lamkin
Sent: 6/24/2013 8:56:56 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: Government Services Committee

xxxx,

There seems to be some wrong information out there. I am presenting an over view on the expected concealed carry law that the Governor will probably sign. It is so the CC knows what to expect and what current ordinances we have that will likely go away. Concealed carry will happen as you know in Illinois. Yes there is a preemption provision in the law about the assault weapons, but there is no ordinance being presented for discussion or approval. I have to cover that as part of the Concealed Carry law. I am not aware or have any direction from the Council at this point and have not pursued one as well. I do not know any of their individual positions on this topic.

James E. Lamkin l Chief of Police

/div>

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Madigan Files For 30 Day Stay On Mandate (Updated)

June 4, 2013 by 8 Comments

Getting each house of the Illinois General Assembly to pass a concealed carry law with lopsided margins looks to have been the easy part. The harder part, in many ways, is going to be getting the law implemented.

It just got a bit harder today thanks to the machinations of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. She has filed a motion to stay the 7th Circuit’s 180 day mandate to have a concealed carry law in place for another 30 days. She gives as her rationale that it would give Gov. Pat Quinn “a reasonable time to fulfill his constitutional duties.” The Illinois Constitution gives the governor 60 days after a bill’s passage to consider and sign it. That amount of time is one of the longest in the nation according to the National Governor’s Association.

Madigan argues that the additional time is necessary to avoid having no state law in place which she says was the court’s original intent of the 180-day stay of its mandate.

The expiration of the stay on June 9 without a substitute law in place
would present a significant harm, not to the defendants in an individualized or
official capacity, but to the People and Constitution of Illinois. The current stay of
this Court’s mandate expires in less than one week, significantly shortening the
sixty-day period constitutionally afforded the Governor to consider and sign
legislation into law. Expiration of the stay on June 9 will either eliminate that
constitutionally-provided period entirely or create a gap in state firearm regulation.
These represent unnecessary harms to the public interest.

Madigan goes on to argue that 30 days is only for the “orderly completion of the legislative process and is not intended for purposes of delay.” If this is indeed the case, one might well ask why Madigan isn’t asking for 51 days or the full amount of time left for Gov. Quinn to either sign or veto the bill under the Illinois Constitution.

Madigan concludes her argument by saying she recognizes that a delay of a constitutional right imposes a burden upon the plaintiffs but that is outweighed by the public’s interest in not having a period where no law is in effect.

It should be noted that Madigan still has another 21 days left on her extension in which to file a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court appealing this case. There is no word on what she intends to do regarding that.

UPDATE: Despite it being highly irregular and that a stay would seem to violate many of the Rules of Federal Appellate Procedure, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan got her order staying the mandate of the court for another 30 days. 

1. MOTION TO STAY MANDATE FOR 30 ADDITIONAL DAYS, filed on
June 3, 2013, by counsel for the appellees.

2. OPPOSITION TO MOTION TO STAY MANDATE FOR ADDITIONAL 30
DAYS, filed on June 4, 2013, by counsel for appellants Michael Moore, Charles
Hooks, Peggy Fechter, Jon Maier, Second Amendment Foundation, Inc., and
Illinois Carry.

3. PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS MARY SHEPARD AND ILLINOIS STATE
RIFLE ASSOCIATION’S OPPOSITION TO MOTION TO STAY MANDATE
FOR ADDITIONAL 30 DAYS, filed on June 4, 2013, by counsel for appellants
Mary Shepard and the Illinois State Rifle Association.

IT IS ORDERED that the motion to stay mandate for additional 30 days is GRANTED.
This court’s mandate is STAYED until July 9, 2013. No further extensions to stay the court’s
mandate will be granted.
form

 Sebastian has more on the opposing motions here.

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Media Rumors On Carry Compromise In Illinois

May 31, 2013 by 7 Comments

The Illinois Observer and the Associated Press are both reporting that a compromise has been reached on a concealed carry bill in Illinois. That said, the Illinois Carry forum has generally been more accurate and more timely than the media. At this time (9 pm Eastern), they are saying they have nothing yet on a compromise.

From the Illinois Observer:

A top source tells The Illinois Observer that lawmakers have an agreement that will preempt home rule only on firearms transportation and existing conceal carry laws.

The legislators, State Senators Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) and Tim Bivins (R-Dixon), State Reps. Mike Bost (R- Murphysboro), Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein), Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg), Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley) and Dennis Reboletti (R-Elmhurst) meeting House Speaker Michael Madigan’s conference room on Thursday afternoon, have also agreed that all existing assault weapons bans will remain in place.

However, the lawmakers, who excluded the governor’s Illinois State Police representatives from the negotiations, have agreed that any new assault weapon bans must be adopted by home rule communities within 10 days of the law taking effect. In reality, the new conceal carry law will ban any further assault weapons bans.

Additionally, the bill will abolish Chicago’s gun registry.

The Associated Press is quoting Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) as saying a compromise has been reached. The compromise legislation will be introduced on Friday by Sen. Gary Forby (D-Benton)

Raoul told The Associated Press that lawmakers are “still tightening up details” but the package has reached common ground on key issues. Those compromises include preserving local gun ordinances and prohibiting weapons from being carried in places including schools and public parks, and tightening penalties.

Raoul says the bill will preserve elements from two pieces of legislation considered in a Senate committee earlier this week.

Until we see the actual bill – if there is actually a bill – we won’t know for sure what sort of compromise has been reached. The fact that it is Sen. Raoul being quoted as saying a compromise has been reached makes me just a bit suspicious. If it were Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg) who has been one of the leading pro-gun legislators in Illinois, I’d believe it.

UPDATE: Todd Vandermyde, the NRA’s lobbyist in Illinois and one of the most plugged-in guys I’ve ever met, had this to say on the IllinoisCarry.com forum about the compromise.

The senate has adjourned for the night.

We are awaiting an amendment on a carry bill. Lots of rumors surrounding what is in and what is out.

Rumor is that the bill will go through the senate first.

With the senate adjourned, the mag ban SB1002 is impossible to pass into law as the bill requires three days in the house,there is only one left.

We may still see a lost or stolen type bill such as SB841 but again it needs 3 days to pass the house on all 3 readings. This assumes they don’t tack it onto a houseboll and try to kick them, back on concurance.

Frankly, if Todd hasn’t seen the language on the compromise, then I can assure you that no one in the media has seen it either.

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On Today’s Legislative Calendar For Gun Rights

May 30, 2013 by

Legislative sessions across the country are slowly coming to a close and with it come votes on gun rights issue. There will be important votes today in both Illinois and New Jersey.

The Illinois Senate will be voting on a number of bills that impact gun rights. Perhaps the most important one will be on their version of a concealed carry law. The bill is HB183 Gun Safety and Responsibility Act and is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago). It is opposed by the NRA, ISRA, and Illinois Carry. The bill is much weaker than SB2193 that passed the State House last week and it preserves home-rule on firearms issues.

The other bills coming up include SB851 Safety Tech sponsored by Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), SB1002 Criminal Law Tech sponsored by Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge), and SB1003 Criminal Law Tech sponsored by Sen. Antonio Munoz (D-Chicago). Raoul’s SB851 includes both universal background checks and a lost or stolen reporting requirement. Kotowski’s SB1002 is a magazine ban bill with an exception for movie and TV productions. Finally, Munoz’s SB1003 increases penalties for firearms violations – even unintentional. All of these bills are opposed by Illinois Carry and ISRA.

The Illinois Senate is scheduled to go into session at 11am Central.

Meanwhile, the New Jersey Senate will be taking up a number of bills that either ban certain firearms or curtail Second Amendment rights. They go into session at 2pm Eastern.

From the Outdoor Wire on S. 2723 and S. 2178:

Senate Bill 2723 — This omnibus bill sponsored by Senate President Stephen Sweeney includes many different gun control sections which will impact retailers and gun owners throughout the state. It suspends Second Amendment rights if one does not have proof of firearms training, including for all current handgun owners; imposes a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases; bans all private sales of firearms; effectively creates a registry of ammunition purchases and long gun sales.

Senate Bill 2178 — Sponsored by state Senators Raymond Lesniak (D-20) and Barbara Buono (D-18), this bill is a flat-out statewide gun ban on possession of .50 caliber firearms. The current version was amended to make this bill effective immediately upon enactment.

Other bad bills include S. 2485 which bans anyone who is on the No-Fly list from having either a firearms ID card or a pistol purchase permit and S. 2467 which mandates divestiture in gun companies by the state pension system.

The New Jersey Second Amendment Society issued an alert yesterday on these and other bills. It can be found here and gives contact information.

If you are a resident of either state, I’d urge you to contact your state senators as well as senate leadership to register your opposition to these bills.

UPDATE: In what may come as no surprise, the New Jersey Senate passed all the gun control bills before it. Sebastian has the whole story here. One needs only to see this video to understand the disdain those in power in the Garden State hold both the 1st and 2nd Amendments. If the State Trooper’s shirt had been either brown or black, you’d have sworn a time machine had transported you to the era of the Third Reich.

No word yet on any grand compromise from Illinois on concealed carry.

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Illinois General Assembly Playing Political Chicken Over CCW

May 29, 2013 by 7 Comments

The Illinois General Assembly is playing a game of political chicken over concealed carry with only nine days to go before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals stay on their ruling ends. On one side you have the Illinois State House of Representatives which has passed a shall-issue concealed carry law with limitations but that does mandate state preemption on firearms laws. On the other side you have Gov. Pat Quinn (D-IL), State Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D-IL), Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), and others of their gun prohibitionist ilk who want to preserve home rule at all costs even if it means not meeting the Court of Appeals deadline to craft a concealed carry law that was consistent with the court’s ruling.

This past Friday the Illinois House of Representatives passed an amended bill by a vote of 85 to 30. It had the support of House Speaker Michael Madigan as well as the pro-gun forces led by Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg). That bill was a compromise. While it provided shall-issue concealed carry and preempted all local firearms laws in Illinois, it also mandated 16 hours of training, a $150 fee, and did not provide for any sort of reciprocity with other states and their CCW licenses. The House had previously failed to pass both a really good shall-issue carry bill sponsored by Rep. Brandon Phelps as well as a draconian may-issue bill sponsored by Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago). Gov. Quinn and State Senate President Cullerton started attacking this bill the moment it was passed.

After the Memorial Day Weekend, the Senate Executive Committee (equivalent to a Rules Committee in other legislative bodies) took up the bill that passed the State House as well as one by Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago). It should be noted that the Executive Committee Democrats are reportedly, for the most part, Cullerton loyalists. Given that, it is not surprising that they refused to let the House bill out of committee and sent forth the draconian concealed carry bill.

Senate Democrats Tuesday blocked legislation backed by House Speaker Michael Madigan to permit Illinois gun owners to carry their weapons in public areas and gut local gun laws, opting instead for a stricter measure favored by gun-control advocates.

The votes by the Senate Executive Committee further muddied the prospects of the House and Senate agreeing on a single plan to meet a court-imposed June 9th deadline to pass concealed-carry legislation and end Illinois’ last-in-the-nation status barring gun owners from carrying their weapons with them.

Opposed by Gov. Pat Quinn, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the speaker’s concealed-carry bill that would undo more than 100 communities’ gun-control laws died in the Senate committee on a 6-8 vote.

An alternative carried by Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) that would spare those local gun ordinances advanced on a 10-4 vote, with one member voting present.

Senate President Cullerton’s aim is to preserve home rule on firearms laws. His strategy seems to be to use the Raoul bill as his bargaining chip. In other words, he’ll be willing to trade off the worst parts of the Raoul bill in exchange for the ability of Chicago and its suburbs to still have their local gun control laws. As he said in the Chicago Tribune’s Clout Street:

With Friday’s adjournment deadline getting closer, Cullerton suggested a
compromise bill could take shape through further negotiations. “If we
get over this super pre-emption that wipes out all these ordinances, we
then have a concealed carry bill,” Cullerton said.

Other commentators such as Eric Zorn of Chicago Tribune and Rich Miller of the Capital Facts column have both noted that Cullerton is quite willing to have concealed carry laws determined by each and every one of the 208 local home-rule units in Illinois.

From Miller’s Capital Facts column:

“In the case of concealed carry, some say we have to pass a bill,” Cullerton told Chicago reporters.

“The fact of the matter is, if we don’t pass a bill in Springfield, the city of Chicago, county of Cook, 208 home rule units can pass their own legislation.

“So, while we should pass a sensible bill to regulate it statewide, if we don’t it’s not the end of the world.”

It was the clearest statement yet from Cullerton that not passing a concealed carry bill might be the best way to go.

As you already know, a federal appellate court has given Illinois until June 9 to pass a new public carry law. If not, all of Illinois’ current carry laws will be struck down as unconstitutional on that date.

At first, liberals were being stampeded into passing new legislation. But Chicago’s mayor and his legislative allies have lately made it quietly known that not passing a bill might not be so bad. Chicago could pass a much stricter proposal than anything that could ever receive the General Assembly’s imprimatur, for instance.

Zorn warns of the chaos that would ensue if the General Assembly fails to pass a concealed carry law and it falls to the 208 local home-rule units to pass their own laws on the issue.

Imagine officials of more than 200 local home-rule units of government in Illinois — trustees, aldermen, councilors, commissioners, most of them part-timers — suddenly and urgently attempting to craft and pass a new ordinance to allow their constituents to carry concealed weapons in public.

Who is entitled to a permit? What training will it take to get a permit and who will provide and authorize it? Will permit-holders be able to carry their weapons on buses and trains? In taverns? In parks? In hospitals?

And so on. More than 200 political brush fires on one of our most divisive, contentious public policy issues breaking out all over the state nearly all at once. To be followed, inevitably, by nearly as many lawsuits filed by those who feel that the new laws continue to violate the Second Amendment’s guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms.

Is that what we want? Because that’s what many observers think we’re going to get if the bickering Illinois General Assembly fails to agree on a concealed carry law by the June 9 deadline imposed late last year by a federal court.

Zorn warns the gun control forces that they may not like the result given the “notable and persistent enthusiasm gap” between gun rights supporters and gun control advocates.

So the passage of a concealed carry law comes down to this: a game of political chicken being played out amongst the Chicago power brokers. Madigan, Cullerton, Quinn, Emanuel, and Madigan’s daughter Lisa the AG are all Chicago politicians. It will come down to who is the most powerful. My bet right now is on Mike Madigan as he has served longer as Speaker than anyone, he is chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, and he is a ward committeeman in Chicago. None of the others can match that. In the meantime, the good people of Illinois remain at the mercy of the thugs.

UPDATE: WGN-TV out of Chicago had this on the concealed carry bill negotiations this evening:

A lot of what happened today happened behind closed doors in the office of House Speaker Mike Madigan in an effort to reach a compromise on concealed carry legislation.

Lawmakers want that done. They’re facing a court-imposed June 9th deadline. They’re close on that, and nearing a deal on expanding gambling.

In negotiations like this, it is always going to be the weaker party that makes the trek to the stronger party’s office.