Sir Knight
03-11-2005, 09:56 AM
From THR (no news link available) ...
Gun bills OKd by House panel
Concealed-carry moves sicken foes
By Erika Slife and Ray Long
Tribune staff reporters
Published March 9, 2005
SPRINGFIELD -- Average citizens could carry concealed weapons under two bills that won overwhelming approval in a House committee Tuesday, setting up a rare, full-blown House floor fight over the issue that advocates say will make people safer and critics contend will lead to more gun violence.
The move further buttressed the National Rifle Association's strategy to not only blunt Mayor Richard Daley's push for gun-control laws but to take the fight to him with a frontal assault of its own.
"I'm heartsick," said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), a major advocate of gun control. The NRA is on a "rampage" in Springfield, Currie said.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich has faced criticism recently as administration lobbyists have backed some pro-gun measures and opposed some anti-gun ones despite the governor's claims to back strong gun controls. This time, however, the administration appeared to speak with one voice.
Agency lobbyists in the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee registered in opposition to the concealed carry measures, and an aide to the governor later pledged he would veto the measures.
"If the legislature passed them, they're dead on arrival," said Abby Ottenhoff, Blagojevich's spokeswoman.
NRA lobbyist Todd Vandermyde said the concealed-carry bills have a "50-50 shot" of passing the House. The bills are similar, except one gives the authority to the Illinois State Police to distribute permits and the other gives it to the county sheriffs.
Under the bills, the city of Chicago could not stop someone from carrying a concealed handgun despite its own ban on handguns, Vandermyde said.
In Springfield, gun issues break along regional, rather than partisan, lines.
The panel endorsed a third bill to require people buying guns at gun shows to undergo background checks, closing a disputed loophole, but it also would require the state to destroy records of sales after 90 days. Though Chicago would be exempted, gun-control proponents want records kept indefinitely.
The fourth bill approved by the panel would prevent municipalities other than Chicago from regulating rifles, shotguns and ammunition for those weapons, including in places like Oak Park and Aurora, which have ordinances in place, Vandermyde said.
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If there was ever a time - THIS IS IT! Call, write, don't e-mail - NOW!!![/quote]
Gun bills OKd by House panel
Concealed-carry moves sicken foes
By Erika Slife and Ray Long
Tribune staff reporters
Published March 9, 2005
SPRINGFIELD -- Average citizens could carry concealed weapons under two bills that won overwhelming approval in a House committee Tuesday, setting up a rare, full-blown House floor fight over the issue that advocates say will make people safer and critics contend will lead to more gun violence.
The move further buttressed the National Rifle Association's strategy to not only blunt Mayor Richard Daley's push for gun-control laws but to take the fight to him with a frontal assault of its own.
"I'm heartsick," said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), a major advocate of gun control. The NRA is on a "rampage" in Springfield, Currie said.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich has faced criticism recently as administration lobbyists have backed some pro-gun measures and opposed some anti-gun ones despite the governor's claims to back strong gun controls. This time, however, the administration appeared to speak with one voice.
Agency lobbyists in the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee registered in opposition to the concealed carry measures, and an aide to the governor later pledged he would veto the measures.
"If the legislature passed them, they're dead on arrival," said Abby Ottenhoff, Blagojevich's spokeswoman.
NRA lobbyist Todd Vandermyde said the concealed-carry bills have a "50-50 shot" of passing the House. The bills are similar, except one gives the authority to the Illinois State Police to distribute permits and the other gives it to the county sheriffs.
Under the bills, the city of Chicago could not stop someone from carrying a concealed handgun despite its own ban on handguns, Vandermyde said.
In Springfield, gun issues break along regional, rather than partisan, lines.
The panel endorsed a third bill to require people buying guns at gun shows to undergo background checks, closing a disputed loophole, but it also would require the state to destroy records of sales after 90 days. Though Chicago would be exempted, gun-control proponents want records kept indefinitely.
The fourth bill approved by the panel would prevent municipalities other than Chicago from regulating rifles, shotguns and ammunition for those weapons, including in places like Oak Park and Aurora, which have ordinances in place, Vandermyde said.
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If there was ever a time - THIS IS IT! Call, write, don't e-mail - NOW!!![/quote]