Posted on 05/01/2005 10:09:01 PM PDT by CHARLITE
Liberals and criminals alike are anxiously awaiting the verdict on Illinois’ newest gun ban, HB 2414. Honestly, it’s hard to tell who’s more excited.
I guess liberals figure if they can’t keep Americans from buying guns, they’ll try putting people in prison for owning them.
Meanwhile, thousands of law-abiding citizens in Illinois are forced to imagine being incarcerated for legally purchasing and owning a gun.
That’s the idea behind The People’s Republic of Illinois House Bill 2414, in which gun owners would have 90 days to surrender their legally purchased semi-automatic firearms to the police, or face felony prosecution and stiff jail sentences.
Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson called the bill a “public policy nightmare.”
Apparently, Pearson still thinks the Second Amendment to the Constitution (for you liberals, that’s the one that says Congress can’t make laws infringing on your right to keep and bear arms) actually means that Congress can’t make a law infringing on your right to keep and bear arms.
You’ll have to forgive conservatives, who haven’t grasped the concept of a living, breathing Constitution, where “keep and bear arms” actually means “sodomy and abortion on demand.”
“Overnight, the bill would create an entirely new class of criminals,” Pearson continued. “I think it would be conservative to say that at least half of the gun owners in Illinois own firearms that would be banned under this bill. The result would be that more than 750,000 citizens, few of whom ever even contemplated committing a crime, would be instantly branded as ‘criminals’ by the mere stroke of the Governor’s pen.”
In that case, Hillary Clinton might want to rethink her strategy of advocating giving convicted felons the right to vote.
Meanwhile, violent criminals everywhere anxiously await the vote on the ban, hoping to relocate from red states (where they currently risk getting shot) to blue state utopias where they would hold all the bullets.
While I doubt the Illinois legislature would hail the bill’s passage as “a victory for criminals,” that is precisely the segment of the electorate that will benefit from such a brilliant proposal. Now, if only liberals could get street gangs to fill out their voter registration cards, they might stand a chance in 2008.
If John F. Kerry can predict mass violence following the expiration of the so called “Assault Weapons Ban,” with no evidence to back up his claim and no accountability when he’s wrong (as usual), then I feel comfortable in making a prediction of my own if HB 2414 is passed.
But, unlike Kerry’s bogus assertion—that allowing law abiding citizens to purchase weapons will result in more violent crime—my assertion is both logical and provable.
If U.S. history holds true, Illinois will soon join Washington D.C., Georgia, and fellow socialist republic Massachusetts with the distinction of having both the nation’s “toughest” gun restrictions and highest murder rates.
Burglars will be free to burgle and muggers will mug to their little heart’s content.
In time, the only criminal in danger of being shot in Illinois will be the crook stupid enough to wear a deer costume and pull a gun on Ted Nugent in the middle of the woods during hunting season.
Researchers like Yale’s John Lott have proven time and again that countries with widespread bans like Great Britain (where all handguns are banned) and Australia (where multiple classes of firearms are illegal) have higher homicide rates and documented incidents of “very serious” violent crime, which result in an overall violent crime rate nearly twice that of the United States (UK: 3.6 per 100 people; USA 1.9 per 100).
Similar trends are found within the U.S., where a state with oppressive gun control laws like Massachusetts has far higher murder rates than neighbors Maine and New Hampshire with their “lax” gun control rules.
Liberals have had more than 23,000 chances to prove that restrictions on guns reduce violent crime.
What is ironic is that the only gun law to succeed in doing so is the “Right to Carry” law, which allows non-criminals to carry firearms in public. Unfortunately, the irony is still completely lost on liberals, as House Bill 2414 once again proves.
In my never-ending attempt to communicate in a language liberals can understand, I will do the honorably French thing by letting someone else fight my battle for me:
1) “The people are not to be disarmed of their weapons. They are left in full possession of them.” (Zachariah Johnson Elliot)
2) “The great object is that every man be armed. ... Everyone who is able may have a gun.” (Patrick Henry)
3) “Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence. From the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable...The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.” (George Washington)
4) The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic.” (Justice Joseph Story)
5) “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. ... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” (Thomas Jefferson, quoting Cesare Beccaria’s On Crime And Punishment.
Apparently, none of these Founding Fathers got the memo about a living Constitution. So, spare me the “guns are only for cops and the military” garbage.
Proponents of the ban continue to beat their dead horse with the same tired claim that semi-automatic rifles are not used for hunting or target shooting. (Next on the agenda is a proposed lawsuit against Nintendo unless they ban Duck Hunt.)
You’ll have to forgive our French/Liberal citizens—it has simply never crossed their minds to defend themselves from anything. They still think that’s what the U.N. is for.
But, since liberals believe hunting is the only reason to own a firearm, I wonder if it would be possible to get a license to hunt criminals?
Oh, that’s right, we have one. It’s called the Second Amendment.
About the Writer: Matthew Holmes is a North Carolina based columnist. His articles have been featured in the North Carolina Conservative, ChronWatch.Com, World Net Daily.Com, News Max.Com, Opinion Editorials.Com, and other media outlets. He can be reached at blade729@msn.com
Has this been passed and what does it actually say?
At one time in America, any politician advocating a law such as this would be hauled out by a mob and lynched.
The De-b@lling of America continues apace.
Hey, I lived in Georgia all my life (recent move to NC), and it doesn't have tough gun laws. What's that about?
In fact, I bought my first shotgun there and it was unbelievably painless.
The points enumerated above, 1 through 5, are absolutely true, and the liberals know it. Their purpose is to place law-abiding citizens at the mercy of criminals, in order to create chaos.
If we look at everything liberals do, we see that their intent with every cause they espouse is for this purpose and this purpose only. It is when chaos rules that they have their opportunity to enable the government to take over more of our freedoms. This is why abortion is such a favorite cause among liberals: It is ultimately divisive, and as such, empowers them.
The homosexual lobby grabbed onto the decision by the SCOTUS to strike down Texas' sodomy and have hung on tight for the ride. Liberals recognize a slippery slope as well as anyone and take advantage whenever they can. They are rushing full force to destroy our freedoms, one at a time.
But again, as long as 70% of the voting population sits in their recliners and ignore elections, there's no stopping the liberals.
To quote from Chuck Heston, "...when you pull it out of my cold dead hand."
What amuses me the most about liberals and gun control is how sensitive they are about the first amendment. They always whine about how right-wingers are "trying to take away their free speech rights" (although I don't remember any scheme to do so), while gun control is a blatant attempt to destroy the second amendment.
Why is one amendment more important than the other? Shouldn't we fight for the ENTIRE bill of rights, not just choosing favorites?
If I lived in Illinois, I'd say, OVER MY DEAD BODY
...or perhaps he ment to say Boston.
Beware of politicians that don't want you to have a gun. They can have a law so what? People will still have guns, they may not be in plain sight but they will be around. I will never be without a gun in my house.
BTW, as was mentioned earlier, Georgia does not have some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country. It's pretty firearms friendly.
Hey, I didn't know that about Kennesaw. Should've moved there.
Or maybe he did mean Boston or New York. Either one.
You've probably heard this before, but in another country (I think Switzerland, but I'm not sure), the law requires every household to have a gun, and the country has an almost 0% crime rate.
We love our guns :) We're a "right to work" state too :)
Take THAT hippies!
I'm in Kennesaw. Jealous? :p
Welcome to FR!
-Mac
Ha ha, quite jealous. Is that true about the gun laws? I never knew that.
And thank you, glad to be here.
I will never be without GUNS in my house, my car, my wife's car.
You got mail!
"Damn stupid politicians are trying to start a civil war."
Another one?!
YEEEEHAW!!!!
Get'r'done!
If voters rise up, politicians quake with fear of backlash. Democracy in action. The people of Illinois should be well-informed of this one.
Remember that washed up has-been named Al Gore? If it weren't for his anti-gun stance, he probably would have one his home state of Tennessee, and therefore the election.
Thank G-d I left Illinois. What a piece of crap excuse for a state.
ping
now im waiting for al l the freepers that say felons should be forever barred from owning guns to come out in support of this bill
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
Where in Hell are you coming from? Freepers do not need to say that felons should be forever barred from owning guns, DUH, this is the law of the land thruout the country. What planet are you residing on?
Thanks for the ping!
uuugghhn, effim!!!!!
After having looked at your homepage, I believe that I must have misunderstood what you were saying in post 26. I am now confused about YOU.
Matter of fact, effim again.
Yup. I have about had it with "laws" that are in direct violation of my unalienable rights.
This made me recall a letter to the editor in my local paper in favor of gun control and how I responded to it. I wrote:
Juneau Empire
02/26/02
Two pounds of iron can even things out
In response to Mr. Adams's letter "No reason to own a gun," I laughed when I read the comment on our "excellent police force" keeping him safe. If being kept safe to Mr. Adams equates with how fast they are on the scene after a crime is committed, then they are indeed "excellent." This is not meant to insult the local police. Just stating the obvious.
His words have the ring of a typical new age coward who is willing to trade freedom for the false security of government control over every aspect of their life. Unwilling (and obviously incapable) of defending himself, he wishes to prevent anyone else from being able to do so. This, in some mysterious way, makes him feel safe.
Reading between the lines, I made note of the comment about not needing a gun for subsistence purposes. It automatically makes me suspect that the next item on his list for the betterment of society is to outlaw hunting, then fishing, then perhaps meat eating.
A passage from a recently read novel sums it up for me:
"Armed people are free. No state can control those who have the machinery and the will to resist, no mob can take their liberty and property. And no 220-pound thug can threaten the well being or dignity of a 110-pound woman who has two pounds of iron to even things out."
While Mr. Adams apparently trembles in fear at the very thought that his neighbors might be armed, I find it comforting to know that my neighbor is prepared to defend himself and perhaps his neighbor if need be.
While Mr. Adams might feel secure in a society where only government offiials are permitted to be armed, I find such a prospect frightening.
I am sure that Mr. Adams will feel very secure, if he is ever in a life-threatening situation, to use his threat to dial 911 as a defense. "Hold it right there! I have a cell phone and I'm not afraid to use it"!!!
One thing for certain, Mr. Adams, anyone looking for a likely target has already been informed by your letter that you are a much better one than I.
Ed
owning guns to come out in support of this bill "
Where in Hell are you coming from? Freepers do not need to say that felons should be forever
I think he was pointing out how this law would make anyone who didn't turn in their gun a felon ... thereby making them unable to ever own a gun .. slick move
I'm just guessing it may be a reference to the City of Atlanta suing gun-manufacturers.
The people of Illinois are getting exactly what they voted in. A perfect example of my current tagline.
"Where in Hell are you coming from? Freepers do not need to say that felons should be forever barred from owning guns, DUH, this is the law of the land thruout the country. What planet are you residing on?"
...not exactly true.
For many felonies, you can appeal for a vacation of judgement and restoration of rights (vote, bear arms) after a period of time.
If this doesn't make it to the Supreme Court nothing will.
More citizens need to write their local newspaper.
Give them H@ll.
Note to self: Never step foot in Illinois. Ever.
bump for later
I do believe that I seriously misunderstood his post, after I viewed his homepage.
I was not aware that you could do this for felonies.
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