WASHINGTON: One of the worst-run states the Democrats can take credit for is Illinois. Illinois was the first (1968) state in the nation to unconstitutionally and illegally require all residents who want to own guns to first apply for and possess an Illinois Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card from the state. The sole purpose of the card in the minds of the Democrats was to curb gun crimes in the City of Chicago. That not only didn’t work but things are now worse than ever. The worst part of this idea was Democrats were warned by both Republicans and law-abiding gun owners, “This is a really bad idea that won’t work.”
The chart below from the website ‘Hey Jackasses: Illustrating Chicago Values’ offers an overview of homicides from past years. This same website reports homicides for 2021, now 2/3 over, stand at 530 after a record month in July. Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot is now exposed as grossly incompetent at holding Chicago’s highest office.
If the clock of time were turned back 100 years in history, our forefathers would encourage both permitless concealed and open carry to resolve this issue. They held the common sense position of the National Rifle Association (NRA) whereby,
“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun.”
The Democrats claim to be all about the care of minorities over Republicans but that is an outright lie and the proof is in Chicago. Illinois has been held by the Democrats since 1939. And yet, year after year some 80% or more of the shootings and homicides of Chicago involve black-on-black crimes. The only thing stupider than the Illinois FOID card is their new push to ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’.
Logical thinking holds that the Democrats could fund and hire the social workers they propose right now and have them work in unison with current law enforcement institutions.
But that is not the Democrat’s way… they are more the cut your nose to spite your face, types.
It seems what should happen is for black clergy and community leaders to perform interventions to determine the mindsets of young black men leading up to these gun crimes. Perhaps non-profit religious groups could have them all in for a free meal to discuss the issue as they break bread together.
Perhaps they could be sown a slideshow of some of the unintended consequences of their actions when innocent bystanders get caught up in the crossfire to become collateral damage.
Guns in Chicago are not the problem and never have been. People with no regard for human life with little to no moral values are the problem.
Another thing that is never discussed relative to this problem is how the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) got most of the mentally ill released from state institutions for their civil rights.
As the ACLU states on their website,
“In a landmark decision for mental health law in 1975, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that states cannot confine a non-dangerous individual who can survive on his own, or with help from family and friends.”
This sounds good on the surface but as some mental health experts warned, too many times the evaluations are both quick and shoddy. They advocated the states were only too happy to oblige to the ACLU and Supreme Court decision as, to them, it was just another budget line item that could be deeply cut or eliminated. They predicted that this would lead to a rise in senseless crime like the recent hammer attack in New York City.
Funny how the Democrats are not looking to regulate hammers after these two attacks?!?
But there has been some hope for Illinois.
The Democratic leadership of Illinois has been dragged kicking and screaming into line with the rest of the nation. By 2011 all but Illinois had a law on the books to allow conceal carry. In 2013 Illinois got its arms twisted to join the ranks of the ‘shall issue’ states. This after outside force from the NRA was applied.
Illinois became the 42nd state to enact a ‘shall issue’ with the remaining 8 states as ‘may issue’.
It is time for every state of the Union to become ‘constitutional carry’ states.
This upholds the position that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not allow for restrictions on gun rights. It does not restrict in any language the right to carry or bear arms. Whether you call it permitless, unrestricted,or Vermont carry is irrelevant. The to fact is something needs to be done for the common good.
We need more happy endings to mass shooter incidents where the shooter himself gets dropped before being allowed to make too many other victims.
Too many times an armed person shoots an unarmed person in these Chicago crimes.
In other words, the person to become a victim never had a chance or option of self-defense. Fifty years ago such a person committing this crime would have been viewed as the lowest of low. They would have not been treated well in prison either. Showing even people in prison have their own ideas of morality and values and what constitutes a ‘fair fight’.
One gentleman who lives in Illinois recently told his story.
“I got my FOID card and then I took the Conceal Carry Class and got that permit. The rules and regulations for where you can and cannot carry in Illinois are so confusing I now leave my gun in my car because I don’t want to inadvertently break the law.”
This highlights the problem of living in a state people are fleeing from to move to other states. Nonsensical rules that are too cumbersome to follow and have no foundation in reality.
A female college co-ed once told me how she was conceal carrying in her Illinois college. She told me,
“I took my Illinois Conceal Carry Class from an Illinois law enforcement officer and he advised me it is better to have it and not need it than not have it and want it. He then followed that up by saying, ‘If you are the one to happen to stop a mass shooter in your college or a shopping mall, there isn’t a judge in the world that is going to try to make a hero a heel!’”
Another issue besides the confusing carry rules of Illinois is the issue of reciprocity
Reciprocity between counties within the state as well as others coming to visit the state.
Politicians need to keep it simple and they are not. The objective of any legislature should not be to make a law abiding citizen a law breaker. Too often that is the end result and the laws broken are both petty and nonsensical without defense to their existence.
The NRA recently reported,
“Today, 20 states have straight recognition, 20 have conditional reciprocity and 10 either do not recognize the permits of other states or have a conditional-reciprocity standard but have not entered into specific agreements with any other states.”
The NRA is to be congratulated for being the impetus for these changes of the last 25 years. Now we need to move every state to a common understanding of both constitutional carry. As well as the complete reciprocity between all 50 states. This needs to be done and done soon. Because of the times we are living, and our straying so far away from the visions of our forefathers. The gentlemen who wisely drafted that Second Amendment to our Constitution. In order that a populace would never be unarmed before a tyrant again.
It is important for those on the opposite side of this issue to understand two important things about those who favor gun ownership; There are those who would prefer to not conceal or open carry a gun even if the opportunity would be readily presented. There are those who are so passionate about both law and order as well as gun ownership they would apply to be deputized as Federal Marshals to carry across the nation and willingly put themselves in harm’s way to keep the peace.
People against guns too often are close-minded to the point of not seeing the people behind the guns they carry.
Many NRA members may absolutely hate California Representative Nancy Pelosi and all over her ‘Squad’ members. But if things went south for them in a public setting, they would both shield them and return fire on the assailant.
That is what it means to be an American patriot to them. That is what it means to want right win out over wrong.
Recent thrusts by the Democrats and the left have found out what a bad idea it was to ‘defund the police’. Perhaps this mistake will help them to see the importance for constitutional carry in all 50 states.
We can only hope.
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About the author:
Mark Schwendau is a Christian conservative patriot and retired technology professor (CAD-CAM and web development). He prides himself on his critical thinking ability. Schwendau has had a long sideline of newspaper editorial writing where he used the byline, “- bringing little known facts to people who simply want to know the truth.” Mark is on alternative free speech social media platforms after lifetime bans from Facebook and Twitter and shadow bans from Instagram and Fox News commenting.
His website is www.IDrawIWrite.Tech
