Thursday, February 5, 2009

We're The Only Ones Pleasantly Surprising You Enough


Police in Illinois take a lot of flak.

They're stuck enforcing the law in a place where a lot of the laws stink on ice.
And a significant number of them work in the Chicago metro area, a place even worse than Illinois when it comes to stupid laws. All this is true . . . . but:

The Illinois Sheriffs' Association has come out in favor of concealed carry in Illinois.

Why? Well, there could be a few reasons. Here are a few I think are most likely:
  • 48 other states have some form of legal concealed carry. Some of them have a form that's practically indistinguishable from our "no way, no how" system, but most are shall-issue, including most of our neighbors. Of Illinois' neighboring states, Iowa is may-issue, Wisconsin is as weird as us, and Missouri, Kentucky and Indiana are all shall-issue states. It's working for them. It would work for us.
  • Sheriffs, unlike Chiefs of police, have to stand for election. That means they have to think about what the voters want.
  • Sheriffs, unlike Chiefs of police, do not have to get appointed to their positions by Mayors. That means they don't have to suck up to weasels.
  • Sheriffs, unlike Chiefs of Police, are not represented in Illinois by an organization bought and paid for by the Joyce Foundation. I'm just sayin', is all.
  • Last and most, the Sheriffs Association has been talking to some very forward-thinking Illinois gun-rights lobbyists from the ISRA and IllinoisCarry. I'm not going to name names here because I'd probably leave someone out, but these people are pulling the freight for gun owners in Illinois.

4 comments:

  1. Don The readers need to realize that a high percentage of average every day squad car driving police and law enforcement officers would love for their family members and relatives to have the opportunity to have LTC. While they are on duty away from their homes.


    Most of the battle from the police is the upper echelon that are trying to get their carrier tickets punched by kissing the rears of the electorate. ho thinks Its easy to pass some easy feel good gun legislation (that looks cool during re-election time) rather than pass effective legislation that actually does something about Crime.

    Kudos' for the Association for finally standing up.

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  2. Illinois gun owners have an opportunity right now with the change in governor, this statement of support from the Sheriff's Assosciation and the concealed carry bill just introduced to finally establish concealed carry in Illinois.

    It's time to remind our legislators again that there is broad support for concealed carry and then follow up by participating in the IGOLD event(Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day) in Springfield March 11, 2009, 12 noon @ Prairie Capitol Convention Center igold.isra.org or 815-635-3198 for more info. You don't need to be an ISRA member to participate.

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  3. You're right, Illinois Vote, but the rank and file have been on our side for a long time and, while I hope I don't sound ungrateful, it hasn't gotten us where we want to go. The political leadership is just too monolithic against concealed carry, and while most cops I've spoken to privately have expressed support, they're not expressing it on the evening news. Their superiors are using that bully pulpit to advance the other side's position.

    That's what makes this notable--this is a group of political police leadership coming out on our side--in public, on the record.

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