Illinois gun-owners rally in Springfield, but misfire in committees
Gun owners lobby in Springfield
(Update, 3 p.m.: The scene outside the Governor’s office. The statue on the left is of the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, whose son and successor is the Illinois gun lobby’s chief nemesis.)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Hundreds of Illinois gun-owners descended on the state Capitol today, lobbying for the right to carry concealed handguns. They wore yellow caps and t-shirts with the emblem IGOLD (Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day), many with the Second Amendment printed on the back.
It was an impressive show of strength. But where it matters - in the legislative committees - they’re losing ground.
Pro-gun lawmakers and lobbyists in recent weeks have predicted this could be the year that Illinois joins 48 other states (including Missouri) that allow “concealed-carry.” The National Rifle Association and others have been pretty fired up about it, and anti-gun folks have been rallying their own troops for what they’ve believed could be a real showdown. (Read our earlier story here.)
The first skirmish so far, though, hasn’t gone well for the pro-fun folks. A state Senate committee last night voted down one concealed-carry bill (SB1976), with Chicago Democrats leading the way. And today, a House committee passed an anti-gun bill that would limit gun purchases to one a month (HB12), a measure backed by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who has made gun control a central goal of his administration - and who has lots of friends in Springfield these days.
Neither issue is yet settled, and an NRA lobbyist stopped by our office a little while ago to assure us that they’ve not yet begun to fight. We’ll see.
Understandably, Chicago politicians don’t want citizens to have guns, the politicians don’t want any competition in criminal activity.
Hundreds?! How about thousands!! 5,100 to be more precise!
“Hundreds” of Illinois gun owners you say?
I suppose that is correct - although the numbers I heard exceeed 30 hundred - possibly 60 hundred.
Was this an accidental slip of the pen, or an intentional statement to minimize the number of Illinois gun owners lobbying their elected officials to respect the constitution?
I suppose you could say that the National Debt is “millions” of dollars. Yeah, thousands of millions…..
Report the facts - it’s the least you can do.
Val Vetter, Activism Chair
Libertarian Party of Illinois
I was at the rally today and there were over 5,100 gun owners, not hundreds. This just illustrates how the liberal media twists facts to suit their agenda and why the citizens of Illinois will never get a fair shake while Chicago controls the government.
I watched my local newscast and was incredibly shocked by the politician who came on to say he had the police vote for not putting through the carry and conceal law in Illinois. I’m not sure what police vote he thought he had since 90 Sheriffs in Illinois came out in support of the bill. Once again you have misinformed people making choices based on inaccurate information and the media not willing (or deliberately) to fact check. Owning a gun is not a privelage, its a right.
At the time the march began, in Springfield, over 5100 people had registered with more waiting to registered. I got to the center, where the march wes to start and the people just came pouring in. The march was very impressive. I was a block and a half from the capital building when the first marchers reached the capital and the end of the line was 5 blocks behin me. Last year their was only 2000 marchers. Wait until next year, it will be even larger.
you media people defile FREEDOM OF THE PRESS when you are too lazy or careless to present the true facts in both sides of an issue. the gun owners rally had 5,100 participants as recorded by individual registration forms. if you want to deliberately distort and intentionally mislead people choose the proper forum, run for office.
Daley is an idiot
You should loose your job, you are either a lazy reporter or a liar. The IGOLD rally had 5,100 Illinois gun owners that took the day of work and most traveled for 3 hours to get to the capital. This FACT is supported by registration forms from every person at the rally.