Thursday, June 26, 2008

Chicago DC v. Heller roundup

I want to apologize in advance if these links seem largely biased towards support of this decision. I wanted to find a balance of stories but at this moment I'm not finding many. I'm sure someone out there has a point of view either for or against this decision. Either way here's your place to sound off.

Mayor Daley Hates the Bill of Rights from The Bench
The hysteria about guns is all about politics, not reality. Here's some reality:

The alarming increase gun violence in Chicago this year is committed for the most part with handguns. Every one of those handguns is illegal. Ask yourself whether the ban on handgun ownership has prevented the thugs from obtaining them. Or from using them. As it has been said a million times, if you ban something only the criminals will possess it. Same with handguns.

Additionally, Daley's remarks about a need for increased police presence and of higher numbers of hospital gunshot wound admissions is not based in fact. In fact, the opposite would probably be true.

Of the 50 United States, only Wisconsin and Illinois do not allow their residents to carry handguns. In the 48 states that allow it, handgun violence has either remained the same or been reduced from level prior to enactment of conceal-carry.
Illinois lawmakers: ruling to make it tougher to pass gun restrictions from Clout St.
State lawmakers said Thursday the Supreme Court opinion on gun control is likely to prompt a flurry of legislation in Springfield but at the same time will make it harder for any new gun restrictions to pass.

Even before the decision, lawmakers struggled to find votes for bills aimed at reducing gun violence. Since 2004, when Congress allowed a 10-year federal ban on assault weapons to expire, lawmakers have been unable to muster enough support to restrict assault-style weapons in Illinois.

Similarly, Mayor Richard Daley’s gun package was quietly tabled this year after proponents fell two votes short of passing a bill they thought had the greatest chances of success. It would have required people who sell guns privately to first get background checks of potential buyers through licensed dealers.

Gun control remains a potent political issue in a state where the geographic divisions on the issue between urban and rural manifest themselves in the Statehouse.

As a Chicago legislator, Gov. Rod Blagojevich once famously made an unsuccessful push to increase the fee for a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card to $500. As a candidate for governor, he was forced to make amends to rural voters and now, in his second term in office, Blagojevich has failed to use the power of his office to advance major gun control measures.

Daley's repeated gun control efforts have repeatedly been rebuffed by rural Downstate lawmakers joining with their suburban colleagues. But the voting is hardly along partisan lines, particularly with more socially moderate Democrats winning seats in what had been solid Republican suburbs and socially conservative Democrats representing some Downstate areas.
Morton Grove - the ball's in your court from Illinoize

Not about Chicago exactly but suburbs might have restrictions that could be challenged in light of the Supreme Court decision.

Chicago's Gun Ban As A Racketeering Enterprise from Newsalert

Newsalert has often talked about Chicago's gun ban even going so far as to say that a member of the mob who just so happened to be a Chicago Alderman had a hand in banning Chicago citizens from owning a gun. Chicago's gun ban according to Newsalert could place this under RICO. The same statute that saw some convictions in a recent federal trial, The Family Secrets trial.

Silly Statements from Second City Cop

I've honestly been waiting for this one.

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