‘Concealed carry’ law unlikely
Bill Preskar has owned H.P. Shooting Center in McHenry for six years, but he’s never seen interest in guns swell as much as it has in recent months.
The number of firearm owner’s identification card applications the shop has forwarded to state police has more than doubled. More customers are buying their first guns because of the bad economy or fears that President Obama will tighten gun restrictions.
“You’re getting a lot of people thinking for the first time they might want something because someone’s going to tell them they might not be able to have it,” Preskar said. “I think people would be better served if they were to petition their state representatives rather than do things in a panic.”
And that’s exactly what about 3,000 gun owners did Wednesday during the Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day as they rallied for a law allowing them to carry concealed weapons.
Their leaders said it would take time to build the support necessary to pass such contentious legislation. While they gather strength, gun advocates hope to fend off new gun control measures, including attempts to limit who can sell a gun and how many guns individuals can buy.
“We’re not just going to lay down and take this stuff; Illinois is bigger than Chicago,” said Todd Vandermyde, a lobbyist with the National Rifle Association.
The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association recently threw its support behind “concealed carry” proposals, saying 71 county sheriffs responded to a survey supporting the legislation. Nine others came out against the legislation, and 23 didn’t respond.
In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court last summer overturned a Washington, D.C., ban on handguns, finding that people had a right to own them. The ruling could mean the end of a similar ban in Chicago, and gun-rights advocates hope it will strengthen the idea that people should be allowed to carry guns if they wish.
McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren said other states had seen a reduction in crime after passing “concealed carry” laws. If passed, the law would allow educated gun owners to protect themselves or their loved ones in the face of a potential sexual assault, carjacking or other crime likely to happen before police could respond, Nygren said.
“Law-abiding people are not the problem,” Nygren said. “And this law puts law-abiding people in a position where they are able to protect themselves until law enforcement gets there.”
Other McHenry County residents question whether crime reduction can be connected with citizens carrying guns. The Rev. Dan Larsen of the Congregational Unitarian Church in Woodstock predicted that the law, if passed, would lead only to more accidental and willful shootings.
“It’s going back to the days of the Wild West,” Larsen said. “It’s impossible. You can’t do this.”
Larsen said the right to bear arms was designated in a vastly different social environment.
“The Second Amendment was intended to provide for a militia during the Revolution and the early days of the Republic when you had to defend yourself because there was no law,” Larsen said. “It was not intended for the situation we have today.”
Crystal Lake resident Patrick Murfin characterized other gun-control proposals as “political theater” designed to garner attention and campaign contributions. He doubted that many measures would be able to bridge the geographical divide between Chicago’s violence and downstate Second Amendment enthusiasts.
“None [of the proposals] on either side have the chance of an ice cube in a skillet of passage,” Murfin said. “... Neither side wants to be caught on record voting on these things.”
For his part, Preskar, of H.P. Shooting Center in McHenry, said much suggested gun control was impractical, pointing to a proposal that would add serial numbers to ammunition and track who bought ammunition by the serial number. He fears that would create a black market for ammunition and cause confusion if shooters re-use casings.
“It’s enough of a burden for the state to keep track of firearm sales,” Preskar said. “It’s just craziness.”
