What we're up against in Illinois

If anyone is wondering just how bad Illinois can be with regard to firearms laws (it is, after all, ranked only 9th most draconian by the Brady Campaign, with only twenty-eight of a possible one hundred tyranny points), take a look at Illinois House Bill 182. HB 182, as amended in the House, would make an extremely modest concession to gun rights--all it would do is legalize carrying a firearm (or taser, stun gun, etc.) in a home where one was invited.

It would not start Illinois down the "slippery slope" toward legalized public carry of firearms (as if that would be so horrible); it would not allow anyone previously prohibited from owning firearms to do so, etc. I never mentioned HB 182 here before, because frankly, it would be such a minor "victory" that I didn't find it all that interesting.

The House clearly thought it was pretty uncontroversial, too--it passed there on a vote of 72-45.

Now, though, if has fallen into the Senate's claws, where rabidly anti-gun Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) has filed an amendment that would mean it only applies in one's own home (which, of course, makes the entire bill meaningless, since it's already legal to have a gun in one's home).

Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence would like that amendment, because even the tiny concession to gun rights offered by the House version offended them. This is what they had to say (before the Senate amendment):

Bill: People invited to your house can bring their handgun

One recent development that we did not support concerned HB0182, which was passed out of committee in the Senate and is now in a position to be voted on before May 31 in the Senate. The bill has already been passed out of the House.

The bill extends where people can possess a handgun. What it says is that it would not be a violation to carry a firearm in a legal dwelling or a place where you are an invitee. In other words, if you are invited to my house, this measure basically says you are not only welcome -- but you can come with your own firearm.

From ICHV's perspective, this is a bad bill. When we invite someone over to our house, we are inviting them to come over -- not inviting their gun to come over.

This is a blatant misrepresentation (a lie, in other words) of the bill. Nothing in the bill would force the host to allow visitors to bring guns--if the house (or apartment) rule is "no guns," that would be the resident's choice.

Here's the Illinois State Rifle Association's (ISRA) take on it:

URGENT ALERT - YOUR IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

CULLERTON/DALEY SEEK TO GUT PRO-GUN BILL

As many of you may know, House Bill 182 easily passed the House recently with 72 votes. HB182 is designed to clarify the unlawful use of weapon statutes to avoid cases where innocent gun owners are arrested and charged for handling firearms in homes other than their own. As we’re sure you’d agree, this is an entirely sensible piece of legislation. Apparently, 72 members of the Illinois House, on both sides of the aisle, agree with you as well.

Well, once the HB182 passed the House, it moved over to the Senate for consideration. Now, Senate President John Cullerton and his gun grabbing pal, Sen. Don Harmon (D- Oak Park) have latched on to HB182 and are attempting to destroy the bill by adding hostile amendments.

HERE’S THE PROBLEM . . .

If Cullerton gets his way, this is what could happen to you:

Let’s say your Aunt Betty is throwing your Uncle Joe a 50th birthday party. You go over to Uncle Joe’s house for cake and ice cream. Uncle Joe begins opening his birthday gifts – one of which is a nifty .45. Uncle Joe asks if you’d like to see the pistol and hands it over to you. Bad move! Under the Cullerton/Harmon hostile amendments to HB182, you could now be arrested, tried and convicted of unlawful use of a weapon. It doesn’t matter if you have a FOID card, or that you are not committing any other crime. The mere fact that you touch a firearm in Uncle Joe’s house could get you arrested and tried. Does that sound reasonable to you?

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO PROTECT YOUR GUN RIGHTS:

1. Call your Illinois senator IMMEDIATELY and politely tell him/her that you are a law-abiding Illinois firearm owner and that you would like your senator to vote “NO” to any amendments to HB182. If you need to find out who your senator is, you can find out at this link on the State Board of Elections website:
http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/SelectSearchType.aspx? NavLink=1

2. Pass this alert on to all your gun-owning friends and tell them to make calls as well.

3. Post this alert to any and all Internet blogs or bulletin boards to which you belong.

Thanks!

That's Illinois for you.