Brady Campaign eyes another Illinois General Assembly seat

I've been trying to get away from being categorized as a specifically Illinois gun rights advocacy blog, but I should probably just learn to accept the fact that that's, to some degree, what this is. I live (unfortunately) in Illinois, and thus can't really help but be smacked upside the head with the forcible citizen disarmament tyranny that characterizes this state, and that being the case, I'm gonna talk about it.

So, although I've pretty much avoided Illinois-specific politics for a while, today I feel compelled to talk about a Brady Campaign endorsed candidate for the Illinois House. Gary Nowak has received the Brady Campaign's endorsement, as a candidate who will "Fight To Keep Dangerous Weapons Out Of The Hands Of Dangerous People."

I have few problems with that, right from the get-go. First, just about anything can be used as a weapon, including a bikini top. Second, once something becomes a weapon, it is--pretty much by definition--"dangerous." A "non-dangerous" weapon is basically no weapon at all (as Texas Ranger Charlie Miller would no doubt have agreed).

Therefore, a promise to "fight to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of dangerous people" is basically a promise to keep everything out of the hands of "dangerous people"--which sounds more than a little unlikely. Then, there's the little problem of defining "dangerous people," and the citizen disarmament advocates' tendency to approach that problem by making everyone's acquisition of firearms more difficult, apparently on the grounds that we must assume that everyone is a "dangerous person," until they can prove otherwise. "They hate us because we're free," indeed.

Nowak's opponent is incumbent Representative Dennis Reboletti, who most recently incurred the Brady Campaign's wrath, and earned freedom loving Illinoisans' (yes, there are a few of us) gratitude, by voting against HB 758, which would have outlawed private handgun sales in Illinois. (From the Nowak endorsement announcement):

Nowak’s opponent, Dennis Reboletti, has repeatedly sided with the gun lobby and has opposed strengthening Illinois gun laws. Rep. Reboletti cast a “no” vote on HB 758 earlier this year that would have extended Brady background checks to all handgun purchasers. The bill lost by two votes. Mr. Nowak has pledged to support the legislation. The Brady Campaign sent postcards to constituents in the 46th district urging them to call Rep. Reboletti to express their outrage regarding his vote against the bill. The Brady Campaign plans to let voters know about his “no” vote on HB 758 before the November elections.

Rep. Reboletti stood up for Illinois gun owners, and for freedom, and the citizen disarmament advocates want to punish him for doing so. If we allow that strategy to work, we'll lose the few friends we have in the General Assembly.

As for Nowak, what do we know about him, aside from what the Brady Bunch tells us? Nothing about guns here. I guess we don't know much about him at all:

Gary Nowak repeatedly refused to provide any responses to citizens on the issues through the 2008 Political Courage Test when asked to do so by national leaders of the political parties, prominent members of the media, Project Vote Smart President Richard Kimball, and Project Vote Smart staff.

On second thought, we know the Brady Campaign likes him, and that he seems to be lacking in political courage. I think I know enough.

By the way, the Brady Bunch is also running a similar campaign for a candidate for the 15th District seat of the California General Assembly, Joan Buchanan. I know nothing about California politics, or Buchanan's opponent, the incumbent Representative Guy Houson, but I can't help but imagine that California's dire environment for freedom would be made even worse by the election of another Brady Bunch endorsed candidate.

What I would like to see is for a Brady Campaign endorsement to be the kiss of death for a candidate. Helmke and Co. are already scrambling for relevance, but I would like to see them become political pariahs.