Chicago's Gun Control Dilemma

Chicago, IL and its parent state, Illinois, have a dilemma concerning gun control.

It appears the empty-suit politicians and their community organizer puppeteers cannot get their heads around simple math, logic, and common sense. They do not recognize a trend called "inverse proportionality".

It has been proven time and again that the lower the restrictions, the lower the incidence of violent crime. In other words, the fewer people allowed to legally keep and bear (own and carry) arms, the less likely some criminal is going to shoot (or stab) somebody. It is also less likely that criminals will break into homes, especially if the owner is home and armed. Criminals, though stupid, are smart enough to select "softer" targets. That shack with Grandma cuddling her 12-guage on the front porch while Grandad has his .45 on his hip as he mows the back lawn is a "hard target".

Ask Australia who banned guns. They have watched their violent crime, especially violent home invasions, skyrocket and continue to rise.

Obama issued a proclamation to the Center for Disease Control to do a study on gun-related deaths and track their statistical relationship to Second Amendment infringements and gun control regulations. The CDC, who is supposed to examine disease and help seek means to prevent or mitigate outbreaks, stepped beyond their authority and did the study. The results concluded the trend many gun rights advocates have been stating for decades. The fewer restrictions levied on law-abiding common citizens the lower the incidence of crimes. In addition, they found that those areas with lowered restrictions also saw a drop in gun-related deaths and injuries.

Meanwhile, back in my and Obama's hometown, recent events have Illinois's not-yet-indicted governor pushing back against proposed concealed carry legislation.

The quip on the "indictment" is not meant to allege any pending charges. It merely points to Illinois State Prisons serving as a retirement home for several of Illinois's past governors. Corruption in Springfield seems to be as much the order of business as it is in Chicago. Mind you, Chicago's larger commercial airport is named after the son of a member of Capone's organized crime syndicate.

The City of Chicago has firearms restrictions enacted that go beyond the state's already Constitution-violating laws. Yet, Chicago has some of the highest gun related crime in the country, perhaps in the world. The city lost a US Supreme Court battle concerning its prohibition of handguns shortly after Washington, DC lost a similar case in Heller v DC.

Yet Chicago has escalating gun violence. Each public holiday seems to present greater opportunities for criminals, thugs, and gang-bangers to shoot at each other, and innocents. They probably believe that the police take the holiday as well. So, with the typical celebratory chaos in full swing, they set out to commit their deadly assaults praying for impunity.

Compare Chicago's crime statistics, per capita, with Tucson's. Tucson is projected to have an approximate murder rate near 8.1 for 2013 (that's per 100,000). Chicago is currently at about 7.5 already, with half the year to go. Last year, Chicago's rate was near 18.7 while Tucson was about  7.8 (per capita rates figured per 100,000 persons).

Do the thugs get blamed in the media? Usually not. Usually it's guns that are blamed. the irony here is that I own several. They must all be overly lazy. None of them have shot a single person. In fact, I have to force them to shoot at paper when I go to the range. If I don't prod their triggers, they tend to just sit there idly.

This past Independence Day weekend was no exception to the trend. The Chicago Sun Times reported over 35 incidents during the weekend resulting in 55 injured and 10 dead. Fathers' Day weekend also saw a dramatic spike in incidents. Yet, gun control advocates are cheering the fact that there have been only 202 gun-related homicides this year as opposed to 275 this time, last year. In Chicago, to criminals, nothing celebrates love, mom, dad, independence, and the sacrifice of military veterans like "poppin' a cap in summin 'cuz he look funny at mah Keds" or "tiltd his hat to dat othah way".

If Chicago area public schools brought back the Jr. ROTC marksmanship teams, maybe some of them would at least learn to hit who they are aiming at instead of playing "spray'n'pray" and hitting bystanders. There would be fewer deaths, and the ratio of gang-on-gang shootings would diminish as they ran out of each other to shoot. But, no, they don't learn how to aim, breath, and squeeze from a stable position. So they shoot everybody near the target hoping they at least hit the poor other criminal with a ricochet.

I would rather they taught gun safety and maintenance in schools just because such classes lead to more safe and responsible gun owners. That would lead to fewer negligent discharges and accidental shootings, which are already rare.

So, Illinois's Governor has proclaimed he will veto Illinois's concealed carry permit bill because the gun ban is working so well in Chicago.

Illinois's gun control laws and prohibition against bearing arms (particularly handguns) was struck down as unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court. The High Court told the state legislature to rewrite their laws to better promote and support the Second Amendment. Basically, they were told to find a way to issue concealed handgun licenses. Their remedy was to allow Firearms Owner Identification (FOID) card holders to apply for a concealed permit once they completed a mandatory course and demonstrated proficiency.

The governor doesn't even like the fact that Illinois issues FOIDs so easily and thinks they need to be on a more case-by-case basis. Basically, he believes he has the right to decide who is allowed to own a gun and who isn't. That is the very mentality that the Second Amendment was written to protect free citizens against.

Meanwhile, in Texas, citizens are screaming that the 83rd Legislature didn't pass "campus carry", "open carry" or "constitutional carry" legislation that would decrease this "too easy on gun control" state's infringements against the Supreme Law of the Land.