In fact one new law proposed by Daley in April to close the private-sale loophole---a requirement that handguns be sold at federally licensed firearm businesses where Illinois State Police can conduct background checks--was defeated in Illinois' gun happy House just two weeks later.
Though the minor inconvenience of having to "spend a half hour of your time and go to a local gun shop," to fill out forms might "save these kids," argued Rep. Bob Molaro, a Democrat from Chicago's Southwest Side in closing arguments, Illinois' pro gun lawmakers considered the bill "an affront to the Constitution," writes the Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn and defeated it.
Also defeated--again--was a bill to limit Illinois residents to buying no more than one handgun a month and a bill that would have toughened the law requiring gun owners to keep weapons away from children.
Another Daley proposal--automatic jail time for someone convicted of carrying an unregistered weapon within 1,000 feet of a Chicago school, park, courthouse or public housing development--was promptly ridiculed by Richard Pearson, head of the Illinois State Rifle Association, as "destroying the privilege of gun ownership for lawful citizens," according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
But with 30 shootings in the last two days in Chicago and a bloody spring and summer promised, maybe the debate shouldn't be a push/pull about rights and privileges anymore at all--but about public health and consumer protection.
"A handgun is simply a consumer product," said Mike Beard, executive director of the National Coalition to Ban Handguns after the Dann murders twenty years ago: "An inherently unsafe, deadly consumer product."
Can anyone name one gun control law that has saved an innocent life? This should be an easy question as there are over 20,000 state and federal laws to choose from.
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rural usa (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments)
on Monday, April 21, 2008 at 12:42:01 PM
