Posted on 02/21/2013 9:50:42 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
(CHICAGO) (WLS) -- The National Rifle Association backs conceal-carry being extended to public transportation. Now the Chicago Transit Authority is weighing in, saying, "No way."
The Chicago Transit Authority carries 1.6 million riders a day. The National Rifle Association says those riders should have the right to carry guns on board busses and trains under any Illinois conceal-carry law. That standoff of opinion between NRA and CTA is playing out now because the state is under federal court order to implement a workable conceal-carry law.
"We think it would be disastrous to allow passenger to carry concealed weapons on our trains and buses," said CTA President Forrest Claypool.
Claypool said Thursday that the transit agency would fight all attempts to allow gun-carrying passengers on board trains and buses, even if legislators allow drivers to have guns in their personal vehicles.
""It's either a right, or it's not...It's not a right that some bureaucrat or some elected official arbitrarily gets to go eenie-meenie-miney-mo and dispense it out," said NRA's Todd Vendermyde.
The standoff started Wednesday at a state house hearing on what kind of law the General Assembly will concoct following a federal appeals court ruling that struck down Illinois' ban on concealed guns in public-the only one in the nation.
"If you think about the crowded conditions that occur on buses and trains, especially at a rush hour, you can imagine how dangerous it would be to have a weapon bumped or discharged," Claypool said. "It is a completely different situation than someone carrying a weapon on the street."
"My concern now comes to my membership," said Robert Kelly, who represents Transit Workers Union Local 308. "They're sitting there with people allowed to have guns on trains. Are we going to be carrying them? How do we defend ourselves?"
(Excerpt) Read more at abclocal.go.com ...
yes you know about the thousands of stories each year about guns firing accidentally because someone bumps into another person.
i mean look at all the cop stories of accidental discharges just getting in and out of cop cars, bumping consoles and chairs as their utility holsters bang against seats, doorjambs, bannisters, handrails, etc.
i mean one little bump and the gun just fires. unbelievable they aren’t made safer.
I ride the CTA almost every day. At the majority of stops predators wait for an unwary female with a smart phone. Right in the middle of the Gold Coast the Clark and Division stop..if you don’t feel the menace at night your not paying attention.
Brings to mind who saved the day in this http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0550488/ episode of “Criminal Minds”
Hint: It was NOT one of the recurring cast members...
Does he imagine there aren’t guns on the buses and trains now?
I’ll meet you over at “The Lodge” and we can have a beer.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.