One day after a third Chicago police officer was gunned down after his shift, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn was in Chicago to sign the state’s newest get tough on guns law.
But it is not the weekend tragedy or the spike in violence in Chicago that is most significant about the law. The legislation that requires prison time for criminals caught with a gun is one of the few gun laws that passed the legislature with broad support. […]
Todd Vandermyde with the Illinois State Rifle Association said the new law deals with a topic that both gun supporters and opponents can agree on. Vandermyde says no one wants bad guys to be walking around with illegal weapons.
“If you don’t posses a FOID card and you’re prohibited from owning a firearm, those are the people we’ve always said should be punished.”
* Part of what made this announcement political is that Sen. Bill Brady missed the vote on the bill this year. From a Quinn campaign press release…
There is an epidemic of violence in our state. Our citizens and first responders are under assault from criminals using illegal weapons that have no place on our city streets. Just yesterday, another officer was shot and killed, the third such tragedy in two months.
At such an important time, Bill Brady didn’t think that increasing penalties for illegal gun possession mattered. He failed to appear to vote on this bill.
Our campaign has repeatedly pointed out that Bill Brady is outside the mainstream, more than any gubernatorial candidate in the history of our state. When it comes to guns, Brady isn’t a conservative; he’s an extremist.
And then they go on to list Brady’s gun votes…
For example, Brady opposes a ban on assault weapons. These are the same guns former Republican Governor Edgar called, “weapons of slaughter and destruction used by criminals” that had “no legitimate civilian purpose in a civilized society.”
These are Senator Bill Brady’s positions on weapons:
* Voted against safe storage of firearms to keep guns out of children’s reach [SB 117, 4/28/99; HB 156, 3/22/99];
* Would eliminate IDs for gun owners and destroy records of gun purchases [Chicago Tribune, 2/27/06];
* Voted against licensing gun dealers [HB 225, 3/22/99];
* Voted against penalties for ‘straw purchases’ of guns, one of the main ways illegal weapons make it onto our streets [HB 228, 3/22/99];
* Sponsored legislation to destroy records of gun purchases and eliminate waiting periods at gun shows [SB 57, 11/4/05];
* Voted against requiring gun license applicants to certify that they had not been convicted of domestic battery [HB 127, 5/31/97];
* Said he would veto legislation to ban semi-automatic weapons [Associated Press, 12/13/09].
* The Quinn campaign has now posted an Internet video blasting Brady’s gun stance. Watch it…
* UIS student Sean Olsta created this mock campaign commercial for a class. His friends said he should forward it to me and I’m glad he did. It’s a hoot…
I hadn’t noticed it before, but Quinn actually does look like Fozzie Bear.
* My intern Barton Lorimor is back at SIU for the summer. Gov. Pat Quinn was down ‘yonder yesterday for a press conference and Barton started right off asking off-topic questions. Quinn had to actually beg for questions on the topic at hand. Way to go, Barton…
