More about Illinois SB 0016

I know I just talked about this yesterday, but there have been new, ominous developments--and besides, this hits awfully close to home for me. Yesterday, SB 0016 passed its hearing in the Senate Public Health Committee, and is now headed for a floor vote.

The Illinois State Rifle Association reports that the way in which it passed through the committee was particularly egregious, and provides a chilling reminder of just how far the rights suppression lobby is willing to go to disarm the law-abiding citizens of Illinois.

4. In a tactic as bad as the Soviet Union, Committee Chairman Susan Garrett denied gun owners the opportunity to testify against SB16 in senate hearings on the bill today. In effect, YOUR VOICE WAS SILENCED by Sen. Garrett. Of course, Daley’s Gun Grabbers were allowed to testify. So, it is important that you call Sen. Garrett’s office at (217) 782-3650, and remind the person who answers the phone that this is still the United States of America and that you are angry that Sen. Garrett denied your fellow citizens the right to be heard. Also, call Garrett’s district office at (847) 433-2002 and tell the person there the same thing.

That is what the Illinois political machine thinks of the Bill of Rights--so desperate are they to throw out the Second Amendment, that they have no compunction about crushing the First Amendment rights of those who would speak against their civilian disarmament agenda.

By the way, in the wake of the Zumbo debacle, the enemies of private firearm ownership are busily trying to exploit the perceived gulf between hunters and those of us who believe in firearms as a bulwark against tyranny. Whether such a schism actually exists or not, hunters (and other sport shooters) have no less of a stake than gun rights activists in defeating this legislative abomination. The bill's definition of "assault shotguns" includes the following provisions:

(D) a semi-automatic shotgun that has any of the
following:
(i) a folding or telescoping stock;
(ii) a pistol grip or thumbhole stock;
(iii) a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 5
rounds; or
(iv) an ability to accept a detachable
magazine.

The section in bold type effectively outlaws all semi-automatic shotguns, because any magazine that can hold 4 or more 2.75" shells (as all that I know of can, when the plug is removed) can hold more than 5 of the 1.75" Aguila "Minishells." The bill says nothing about whether or not the gun can cycle the ammo, only the number of shells the magazine can hold. Want to introduce your son or daughter to waterfowl or turkey hunting with a semi-auto's soft recoil--too bad--those will be illegal.

This bill would overnight create literally tens of thousands--maybe hundreds of thousands--of new "gun criminals," out of law-abiding Illinois citizens. Perhaps that is the plan. Perhaps the vast surge in "gun crime" will be used to justify even more, yet more draconian gun laws. Pretty clever, really.

The agenda to disarm Illinois is well underway. If we let it happen, we'll deserve what we get. Don't forget IGOLD
.

I would like to express my thanks to David Codrea, at War on Guns, for posting information about this.