Posted on 07/01/2003 10:18:24 AM PDT by Mini-14
BLACK KNIGHT ARRESTS WHITE KNIGHT
By John Birch, President, Concealed Carry, Inc., PO BOX 4597, Oak Brook, IL 60522-4597, Tel: 630 660-3935 Fax: 815 327-1152 Email: john@concealcarry.org Web: www.concealcarry.org
What will it take to outrage gun owners to the point of action? The arrests of John Horstman, Vanna Haggerty, Roderick Prichett and Hugo Padilla I am sure represent just a fraction of those Illinois gun owners subjected to malicious prosecution. I am proud to say that CC, INC. members are at the forefront of bringing such outrages to light and fighting militaristic cops and prosecutors on their own turf, the courts. We are grateful for organizations like the Champaign County Rifle Association who have selflessly stepped in often and received virtually none of the credit.
And so the call to action is again upon us. But what strategy to take? Gee, getting ahead of myself. How about a little story first?
Once upon a time there was a man who lived in a castle. He trained the Knights in the art of the broadsword and was himself a Knight. However this Knight also realized the times had changed and so he also decided on June 8th, 2003 to add a Taurus .45 to his choice of weapons. Being a good Knight (not a gang banger Knight) he went to the Great Outdoors in Gurnee Mills on June 12th to refine and hone the art of gunning down the scum of the earth.
Returning from the range the Knight was called on his cell phone to perform another good deed. A friend had managed to get himself sufficiently inebriated that assistance was required. The Knight rose to the occasion, picked up his friend and saved the day. However no good deed goes unpunished! In Wheeling a Black Knight with blue lights appeared. Bear in mind this is at night.
The Black Knight told our Knight that he had seen him reaching for a gun and to step out. Where upon our Knight was cuffed and searched. The product of the search was a loaded magazine. Of course a White Knight is not allowed to have such an item in the land of Black Knights with their blue lighted steeds of justice. A search of the vehicle revealed a drawer under the drivers seat. In the compartment was a gun case with the aforementioned unloaded .45. A fast check revealed the gun was not "hot" and that our Knight had a FOID card and no priors. As the Black Knight's thick skull processed this information, our Knight offered the letter he had downloaded from http://www.concealcarry.org/fannypak.pdf explaining the law on transportation of weapons. The Black Knight looked at the letter and declared it "Bullshit." I dearly hope the Black Knight remembers those words at his civil trial.
In any case the Black Knight did the only thing he could confronted with an armed White Knight and that is charge him with Aggravated Unlawful Use of Weapons, a Class IV Felony and of course the usual "Improper Lane Usage" to establish probable cause. Our Knight was quickly bonded out which is a blessing, however he faces arraignment tomorrow.
Let me fill in some details. The White Knight is Eric Booker email e.booker@lycos.com. Eric does indeed train the Knights at Medieval Times and at the Renaissance Faire in Bristol, WI. He is himself a Knight. The stain of this arrest is upon him thanks to the Black Knight Wheeling Police Officer Chris Higham, Badge 129, Tel: 847 459-2632.
It is interesting that Officer Higham could see Eric reaching for a gun at night but did not notice that Eric's plates were expired. What kind of suburban cop is Higham if he can't spot a chicken shit thing like expired tags? Guess he didn't read "How To Be a Suburban Cop For Dummies."
Higham, in order to ensure the public safety, did manage to confiscate Eric's gun, magazine, ammunition, gun case and Eric's empty holster which he had on his belt.
This case is in Cook County so that means a full prosecution by State's Attorney Dick Devine.
I can suggest several courses of action. Let's see if any of them have merit. They are:
1. Too bad Eric, you are on your own. Welcome to Illinois you poor dumb bastard.
2. We can write a small check for his legal defense (CC, INC. will do that in the name of the members.)
3. We can attend his trial in HUGE numbers when it happens. Eric will be arraigned tomorrow, June 27th, at 1:30pm in Court Room 310, Branch 349, in Rolling Meadows, 2121 Euclid. He will represent himself at arraignment and plead NOT GUILTY.
4. Some of us might arrange a little stroll to Wheeling with unloaded, encased guns and FOID's and give Officer Highman a call in advance so we can be greeted appropriately as gun owner often are by snipers, SWAT, lines of fire, the press...you know the drill. Not sure anyone will want to do this dance, and I am too chicken to do it alone. But I am open to it.
Your comments on the above are welcome. john@concealcarry.org and don't forget to email e.booker@lycos.com as Eric really feels betrayed by his nation now, is righteously pissed off, feels very alone and is somewhat humiliated at being arrested like some gang banger. This is a Cook County case and winning here will be PRECEDENT to be followed by a civil trial of course.
We hope you enjoyed our Knight's Tale and will circulate news of Eric's arrest far and wide. You could be the next White Knight if your luck runs out coming home from the range. Think about it.
An earlier version of that document put forth by the Illinois State Police specifically claimed that a loaded magazine was a loaded firearm, despite the fact that there is nothing whatsoever in the statute which either supports such a claim directly or gives sufficient discretion to police or prosecutors to make such a claim.
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