Gun roundup
Monday, Jun 10, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* LG Simon wants to remind home rule units that the clock is ticking loudly on local assault weapons bans…
Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon is urging Illinois communities to consider banning assault-style weapons before new legislation is signed that could prohibit local governments from doing so in the future.
The General Assembly approved a measure last month that would end Illinois’ last-in-the-nation prohibition on the concealed carry of firearms. The legislation, prompted by a federal court ruling that found Illinois’ law unconstitutional, also prohibits future assault-weapons bans. It allows existing bans, such as one in Chicago, to remain in place.
Gov. Pat Quinn hasn’t said whether he will sign the proposal, which the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has given him until July 9 to enact. Simon said if the bill is signed into law as written, cities with so-called “home rule” decision-making authority would have just 10 days to prohibit assault-style weapons.
“We have seen the tragic results assault weapons have had on our streets, in our schools, movie theaters and more,” Simon, a Democrat from Carbondale, said in a statement to be issued Sunday. “The clock is ticking, so I encourage mayors and local officials to act now to ban assault weapons and retain local control over this important issue.” [Emphasis added.]
That 10-day limit was one of the odder results of the concealed carry compromise between the House and the Senate.
* This was another provision of the new bill…
Chicago’s 3-year-old gun registry could go away as part of the concealed carry law state lawmakers recently passed, but few are publicly mourning the loss of a database once heralded as a key part of the city’s gun control laws.
The registry, put in place by then-Mayor Richard Daley after the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out Chicago’s 1982 handgun ban, required people who wanted guns in Chicago to buy city permits and register the weapons with police.
Gun rights advocates derided the registry and Chicago’s municipal permit process as ineffective in curbing gun crime and an unfair burden for law-abiding gun owners.
The numbers indicate the registry wasn’t effective. There are now about 8,650 Chicago firearms permit holders who have registered around 22,000 firearms, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office. That’s compared with the roughly 150,000 Chicago households the University of Chicago Crime Lab estimates currently have guns.
* Meanwhile, this gun bill kinda got lost in the shuffle of the concealed carry hooplah. From a May 31st press release by Mayor Rahm Emanuel…
“I want to thank Speaker Madigan and President Cullerton, Senator Raoul and Representative Zalewski today for their leadership in passing landmark gun legislation, HB 1189, to keep our communities safe. The new law will require verification of a Firearm Owners Identification Card for all gun sales in Illinois and will help to ensure guns do not fall into the hands of dangerous people. It will also require reporting of lost and stolen guns, similar to Chicago’s ordinance, giving our police a big advantage in tracking down illegal guns and gun traffickers.”
* From the synopsis…
Provides that a private party who sells or transfers a firearm must use the State Police’s dial-up system to verify that the buyer or transferee is the holder of a valid Firearm Owners Identification (”FOID”) card before making the transfer. Provides for exceptions; sets forth record keeping requirements. Requires the State Police to develop an Internet-based system for individuals to determine the validity of a FOID card prior to sale or transfer. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that the sellers and transferors of firearms who determine the validity of a FOID card prior to sale or transfer are not civilly liable for any misuse of the firearm by the buyer or transferee. Provides that the owner of a lost or stolen firearm must report the loss or theft of the firearm to law enforcement within 72 hours of discovering the loss or theft.
* In other news, a local prosecutor has jumped the gun on concealed carry…
Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons isn’t waiting to see when, or if, Gov. Pat Quinn signs legislation allowing the carrying of firearms in public.
Gibbons announced Thursday that, effective immediately, people can begin carrying concealed weapons on their person or in their vehicle while in Madison County, so long as they meet a few requirements. […]
Gibbons said a person now will be allowed to carry a weapon in public in Madison County as long as he or she meets these seven requirements:
* The person must possess a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card. If not an Illinois resident, the person must have a concealed-carry permit, which requires a background check, issued from his or her home state.
* The person must be carrying the firearm for self-defense.
* The person must not be prohibited from possessing a firearm under any court order or statute.
* The firearm must be concealed on the person or in a vehicle, not visible to the public.
* The person must not be engaged in criminal conduct.
* The person must be in compliance with all other federal, state and local laws.
* When asked, the person must inform police officers that he or she is carrying a gun.
* The Belleville News-Democrat advises caution…
Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons became an overnight folk hero to many people last week when he approved concealed carry in the county, effective immediately.
We appreciate his frustration with the state, which is taking its sweet time to comply with a federal court order allowing concealed carry. Still, we think Gibbons’ action complicates things more than it helps.
The rules he proposed are more lax than the bill awaiting the signature of Gov. Pat Quinn. How is that going to work when the state law eventually does go into effect?
And if a State Police trooper stops a motorist on Illinois 159 who is carrying a gun, the state said he will be arrested. The officer is not going to accept the explanation, “Gibbons said it was OK.”
Telling people they can carry a gun in Madison County is like telling a kid he can ride his bike in the cul-de-sac. It sounds great at first, but it’s extremely limiting.
* And the move surprised other state’s attorneys…
“We are a nation of laws, and we should follow the law and not pick and choose which ones we’re going to follow,” said Chuck Garnati, who’s in his eighth four-year term as the top prosecutor in southern Illinois’ Williamson County. “I commend the Legislature for passing the conceal law and sending it to Gov. Quinn. But until he signs it, it’s not the law in Illinois. That’s the bottom line.” […]
While the 7th Circuit’s nullifying Illinois’ ban may have spurred confusion, “that does not by any authority I’m familiar with allow state’s attorneys to interpret the law or fashion their own version when we don’t know what the law will be,” said Jon Barnard, top prosecutor in Adams County in western Illinois.
“State’s attorneys are not legislators, and I think the most prudent course is to treat the law the way it is now — enforceable,” Barnard said.
Law enforcement groups agreed. The Illinois State Police, Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association said in a “public safety advisory” after Gibbons’ declaration Thursday that authorities “will continue to enforce Illinois’ current unlawful use of a weapon statute in all jurisdictions.”
* Related…
* Concealed Carry Permits And Gun Range Training
* NYRB: Facing the Real Gun Problem
- Downstate - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 1:37 pm:
49 other states have already enacted variations of this legislation.
Good Golly! Our state leaders can’t even follow very well.
- John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 1:59 pm:
Sheila Simon has little or no idea what an AW is except scary looking. She has no idea how few of them are used in crimes in Illinois, and how many of those are legally held.
- HenryVK - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:12 pm:
Interesting that some reporter cares what Sheila Simon thinks.
Now that be a real story — “Suburban Reporter Believes Daughter of Late Senator Has Newsworthy Comment on Illinois Legislation.”
- Keep Calm and Carry On - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:13 pm:
10 days?
That is bizarre.
So much for a single, common standard statewide.
And so much for giving local leaders time to hold a thoughtful dialogue of their own and implement effective local rules.
Unless, of course, they file their own suits seeking additional time.
- John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:17 pm:
If anyone doubts why we need state preemption…
- Charlatan Heston - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:29 pm:
“The numbers indicate the registry wasn’t effective. There are now about 8,650 Chicago firearms permit holders who have registered around 22,000 firearms, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office. That’s compared with the roughly 150,000 Chicago households the University of Chicago Crime Lab estimates currently have guns.”- Wow..”…wasn’t effective?” How about an abysmal failure. I would love to know where they got that 150,000 number. I just can’t believe that it is that low..
- HenryVK - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:30 pm:
Pro-gun people,
You won.
You can relax now.
No need to post the same stuff you posted for a year.
- Charlatan Heston - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:44 pm:
@ Henry VK…first comment…too too funny
- John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:47 pm:
>>>>> Pro-gun people,
You won.
You can relax now.
Riiiiiight.
The governor has signed nothing.
The Lt. Gov and Dem Reps in key liberal areas are urging local gun bans.
There is no time to relax.
- Property Owner - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:47 pm:
“Sheila Simon has little or no idea what an AW is … and how many of those are legally held.”
I too do not know how may are legally held. As a matter of fact there are very few official statistics available about guns. When compared with many aspects of life in Illinois and the US one might say that there is almost a ’statistical desert’ when it comes to most aspects of guns.
- HenryVK - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:59 pm:
“There is no time to relax.”
Could you try for “not boring”?
Because not boring would be awesome.
You people are very upset. We get it.
Do you really think posting the same boring rants here is helping the cause?
- Ghost - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:21 pm:
And so it ends, not with a whimper but with a bang….
- Slick Willy - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:34 pm:
Henry-
Been a long road. That is certain.
Could you not apply the same criticism to the likes of Simon and her ilk? Perhaps the anti-gun Dems should just sign the law and fall in line with the other 49 states with CC?
- Slick Willy - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:35 pm:
BTW, your comment about Simon made me laugh out loud.
- downstate commissioner - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:53 pm:
Agree with State’s Attorney Gibbons with his feelings about concealed carry, but he is totally wrong with what he did. Actually, I would think that his job is at risk; think that his advocating breaking state law should be, if not already, illegal for a person in his position.
As for Simon, she should check in here and read Henry VK; she apparently doesn’t understand that we “won.”
Also, up to this point, I was neutral on her possibly running for Attorney General; not any more…
- BR - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:58 pm:
It seems that Quinn and Simon only think “Constitutionally” guaranteed rights are important if they agree with them….
- Quinn T. Sential - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 4:27 pm:
I suspect that the Gangster Disciples are planning a seminar/workshop for their active members in the very near future in order to provide them with an update and an overview with respect to the latest legislative session.
I am sure we can expect significant positive changes to their operational activities due to their concerns and adherence with the latest changes in the law.
- Skirmisher - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 4:27 pm:
Widespread speculation in my circle that Quinn plans to veto the thing anyhow to impress his Cook County base, then let the courts and next year’s legislature sort out the mess while pontificates from a position safely north of the I-80 Curtain. No one at my gun club is holding their breathe waiting for conceal carry to actually be put in place as a workable law anytime soon in Illinois.
- John - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 4:50 pm:
Note how the Madison County state’s attorney inserted Duty to Inform (DTI) in his ad hoc carry advisory. Wonder where he got that idea? Take a look at Rep. Brandon Phelps HB148 carry bill that failed in May 2011. NRA contract lobbyist Todd Vandermyde placed DTI in that bill to buy off the Chiefs of Police. Now everyone has got the bright idea of DTI. Thanks Todd!
Hey, was background checks on private sales another product of Todd’s hard work? Enquiring minds want to know.
- Trixie - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 5:16 pm:
Why Gibbons, a Democrat in Madison County, did this is beyond me. I would think that the voters who are most impressed with his move are probably not likely to vote for a Democratic State’s Attorney or any other Democratic candidate. And if he had thoughts he might run for statewide office as a Democrat, so long to that after this pronoucement.
- RonOglesby - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 5:48 pm:
John,
you show yourself to just be anti-Todd… and, uh, no one cares what you think…
- Leave a Light on George - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 8:58 pm:
Trixie ain’t nothin but democrats in Madison County. If you took a poll I bet Gibbon’s position is popular among Madison County dems.
- Anonymous - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 9:28 pm:
Simon’s plea for quick, new, home rule community gun bans flies in the face of her study committee. Was this their recommendation? Have they even met? Simon is a HYPOCRITE!
- David W Lawson - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 10:40 pm:
I wouldn’t be so hasty to trumpet the end of Chicago’s ridiculous registration system. I am no lawyer, but my reading of the preemption clause is that it only preempts handgun laws, not rifle or shotgun laws.
So we’ll have the ridiculous scenario where Chicagoans have to take a pistol training course and qualify with a pistol so that they can register grandpa’s shotty. Strange indeed.
As for local AWBs. Aw, so 10 days is too little time for them to consider passing a law that they obviously haven’t felt the need to pass in the past few decades? Seriously? I guess I know the feeling…I never thought I wanted a .50 Cal rifle until Kowtowski proposed banning them a few years ago. Of course, since they are something like $6 grand, I managed to resist the temptation.
- John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt - Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 10:54 pm:
>>>>> Simon’s plea for quick, new, home rule community gun bans flies in the face of
I’m thinkin’ that she’s following Lisa *real close*, elephant style, in order to appeal to Lisa’s voters.
- John - Tuesday, Jun 11, 13 @ 12:36 am:
Ron: “Law enforcement groups agreed. The Illinois State Police, Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association said in a “public safety advisory” after Gibbons’ declaration Thursday that authorities “will continue to enforce Illinois’ current unlawful use of a weapon statute in all jurisdictions.” Hey wait a minute here! Didn’t Vandermyde insert DTI specifically at the request of the Chiefs of Police in 2011 in Phelps HB148 carry bill, because they’re “on our side?” What’s going on here now? I mean we’re the “good guys” right? What happened to all that “we need the backing of law enforcement” talk?
Bought some of Doc Vandermyde’s elixir when the NRA medicine wagon came to town, did ya? Don’t be so embarassed, you’re not the only rube in town who has a headache from all the toxic ingredients in the Phelps bill. It’s okay to feel pain now that the one you love has betrayed you.
- BR - Tuesday, Jun 11, 13 @ 7:08 am:
Veto away Quinn… That will allow us to “Carry” and regain our 2A rights even sooner….
- John - Tuesday, Jun 11, 13 @ 8:59 am:
BR: Hear hear! But understand that constitutional carry is not what the Mayberry types really want. Deep down they have a need to conform to the system, and submit to the unlimited state and federal privacy waiver that NRA contract lobbyist Todd Vandermyde thoughtfully wrote for Rep. Phelps HB148 carry bill back in 2011. Madigan grabbed the exact same language for the bill that just passed on May 31. Thanks Todd! After the government pulls their bank accounts and IRS tax returns, sifts through them, and retains the records indefinitely, since their are no time restrictions in the language Vandermyde wrote, the rubes can then have a coveted piece of plastic in their pocket proving that they are “one of the good guys.”
Sponsoring a bill providing that cops under the influence of drugs or alcohol have their police powers suspended like Buckeye Firearms did in Ohio is not within the capability of the IL grassroots small towners. Deep down they really don’t want to win.
- John - Tuesday, Jun 11, 13 @ 9:12 am:
BR: Hear hear! But understand that constitutional carry is not what the Mayberry types really want. Deep down they have a need to conform to the system, and submit to the unlimited state and federal privacy waiver that NRA contract lobbyist Todd Vandermyde thoughtfully wrote for Rep. Phelps HB148 carry bill back in 2011. Madigan grabbed the exact same language for the bill that just passed on May 31. After the government pulls their bank accounts and IRS tax returns, sifts through them, and retains the records indefinitely, since their are no time restrictions in the language Vandermyde wrote, the rubes can then have a coveted piece of plastic in their pocket proving that they are “one of the good guys.”
Sponsoring a bill providing that cops under the influence of drugs or alcohol have their police powers suspended like Buckeye Firearms did in Ohio is not within the capability of the IL NRA & ISRA grassroots types. They really don’t want to win.