Illinois Gun Owners: Get Ready to Sell Your Home and Move

Illinois, long known to be the home of politicians either indicted or, in the minds of her citizens, needing to be indicted, has embarked on its latest folly against her own. Illinois lawmakers primarily from the Chicago area are intent on criminalizing almost all forms of gun ownership and manufacturing in the state.

And while hardened criminals run lose, get off on technicalities, or serve limited jail time, honest citizens who are caught in non compliance with the proposed law will face life imprisonment (AR-15 plus four magazines). Some guns will be grandfathered only if registered with the Illinois State Police. Make no mistake, registration precedes confiscation.

The irony is that Chicago already "enjoys" some of the strictest gun control in the country, yet that has not stopped gun violence. In fact, despite huge budget shortfalls in Chicago, Cook County and the State of Illinois, Chicago is employing not only expensive camera systems to monitor her inmates, I mean citizens, but also sound detectors designed to pick up gunshots and alert police of the location.

Quite the contrary, states that enact a Carry Concealed Weapon (CCW), or Right To Carry (RTC) law have found violent crime to decrease. In fact, Illinois is in a small minority of states that DO NOT allow some form of legal concealed carry. How small of a minority? Try two. That's right, just two states, Illinois and Wisconsin prohibit all forms of Right to Carry. Eight states have limited issue, three more have discretionary reasonable issue, a whopping 36 have a "shall issue" law (Alaska is one of these but does not require the permit), and Vermont requires no permit at all.

Before you are too hard on Wisconsin lawmakers, January 2006 found the state senate overriding the Governor's veto of a Right To Carry bill, the house falling only two votes short of override. That would have put Illinois all by herself.