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Published again the Rockford Register Star


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The local newspaper published my Letter to the Editor. I've had several get into print in recent years, often on 2nd Amendment issues. Each time I get surprised that they printed my letter since the paper's editorial stance is generally for gun control. Here is the letter:

"All of the hysteria calling for 'more gun control' is understandable from an emotional perspective, as a reaction to the horror of the recent mass shootings. But adding yet more gun control laws on top of the thousands of current laws restricting guns and who can buy them, who has the right to carry a gun, etc., will do virtually nothing to stop future mass killings.

What it will do is further restrict law abiding citizens of their right to keep and bear arms as supposedly guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

We hear about the socalled 'gun show loophole,” which does not exist. Gun dealers, whether selling in a retail store or at a gun show, still must run a federal background check on the buyer.

We hear the demand for

'Red Flag laws' to allow for the taking of guns from people deemed dangerous, while we do nothing to pre-emptively take guns away from known gang members who have clearly shown a disposition toward gun violence. We hear the calls for banning guns merely on the basis of what they look like, something that makes no sense and was tried before (the 1994 ban on so-called assault weapons was deemed by the U.S. Justice Department to have failed to have any impact upon criminality in the 10 years it was in effect, and faced little political opposition when it was not renewed in 2004).

Evil will always exist, and evil people will find the means to inflict pain and death upon the innocents. And since armed police cannot be everywhere at once, the real answers include better physical security where large numbers of people gather, and more freedom for the 'good guys' to have the means of stopping the psychopath when a mass killing is attempted.

The real long-term answer is to examine society and its culture to try to fix the roots of the violence that pervades our society. We need to

strengthen families, improve our schools and continue to expand the economy to give more of our citizens the opportunity to succeed in life without resorting to criminal violence.

But this is not easy, and not a 'quick fix' like another gun control law which will make some feel that they have done something, while in fact they will have done little except to erode the freedom and rights of those who are not the problem."
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The local newspaper published my Letter to the Editor. I've had several get into print in recent years, often on 2nd Amendment issues. Each time I get surprised that they printed my letter since the paper's editorial stance is generally for gun control. Here is the letter:

 

"All of the hysteria calling for 'more gun control' is understandable from an emotional perspective, as a reaction to the horror of the recent mass shootings. But adding yet more gun control laws on top of the thousands of current laws restricting guns and who can buy them, who has the right to carry a gun, etc., will do virtually nothing to stop future mass killings.

 

What it will do is further restrict law abiding citizens of their right to keep and bear arms as supposedly guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

 

We hear about the socalled 'gun show loophole,” which does not exist. Gun dealers, whether selling in a retail store or at a gun show, still must run a federal background check on the buyer.

 

We hear the demand for

 

'Red Flag laws' to allow for the taking of guns from people deemed dangerous, while we do nothing to pre-emptively take guns away from known gang members who have clearly shown a disposition toward gun violence. We hear the calls for banning guns merely on the basis of what they look like, something that makes no sense and was tried before (the 1994 ban on so-called assault weapons was deemed by the U.S. Justice Department to have failed to have any impact upon criminality in the 10 years it was in effect, and faced little political opposition when it was not renewed in 2004).

 

Evil will always exist, and evil people will find the means to inflict pain and death upon the innocents. And since armed police cannot be everywhere at once, the real answers include better physical security where large numbers of people gather, and more freedom for the 'good guys' to have the means of stopping the psychopath when a mass killing is attempted.

 

The real long-term answer is to examine society and its culture to try to fix the roots of the violence that pervades our society. We need to

 

strengthen families, improve our schools and continue to expand the economy to give more of our citizens the opportunity to succeed in life without resorting to criminal violence.

 

But this is not easy, and not a 'quick fix' like another gun control law which will make some feel that they have done something, while in fact they will have done little except to erode the freedom and rights of those who are not the problem."

 

"...supposedly..." ?

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I said "supposedly" because we have accepted so many infringements already that it no longer was what it was intended to be. And by "we" I mean the American people. That doesn't mean that we should not fight to keep as much of our diluted rights as we still retain at the moment.

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Nice work my man!!

Last weekend’s mass murders in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, have produced a flood of words about everything from gun control to mental illness to white nationalism. Most of those words have addressed the right to keep and bear arms as if it were a gift from the government. It isn’t.

The U.S. Supreme Court has twice ruled in the past 11 years that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual pre-political liberty. That is the highest category of liberty recognized in law. It is akin to the freedoms of thought, speech and personality. That means that the court has recognized that the framers did not bestow this right upon us. Rather, they recognized its pre-existence as an extension of our natural human right to self-defense and they forbade government — state and federal — from infringing upon it.

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The so called gun show loophole conceptually does exist. Works like this. There is a gun show in town populated with both dealers and private citizens. If the private citizen shows up to sell his gun at the show to another private citizen, there is no NICS check. Thus the "loophole" the other side is talking about. Of course this would be the same result whether the private citizen made that sale at a show or somewhere else, but the antis have focused on a gun show environment. Illinois has mitigated some of this with the now mandatory FOID check even for private sales, but the argument persists.

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The so called gun show loophole conceptually does exist. Works like this. There is a gun show in town populated with both dealers and private citizens. If the private citizen shows up to sell his gun at the show to another private citizen, there is no NICS check. Thus the "loophole" the other side is talking about. Of course this would be the same result whether the private citizen made that sale at a show or somewhere else, but the antis have focused on a gun show environment. Illinois has mitigated some of this with the now mandatory FOID check even for private sales, but the argument persists.

 

This is not true. Read 430 ILCS 65/3 (a5) and 3.1 of that same statute.

 

ANY firearm transferred on the grounds of a gun show must be done in accordance with the above statute. It is run through the ISP which includes multiple checks including the NICS check.

 

There is NO gun show loophole.

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Here is the relevant statute.

 

 

(a-5) Any person who is not a federally licensed firearm dealer and who desires to transfer or sell a firearm while that person is on the grounds of a gun show must, before selling or transferring the firearm, request the Department of State Police to conduct a background check on the prospective recipient of the firearm in accordance with Section 3.1.

 

 

Sec. 3.1. Dial up system.

(a) The Department of State Police shall provide a dial up telephone system or utilize other existing technology which shall be used by any federally licensed firearm dealer, gun show promoter, or gun show vendor who is to transfer a firearm, stun gun, or taser under the provisions of this Act. The Department of State Police may utilize existing technology which allows the caller to be charged a fee not to exceed $2. Fees collected by the Department of State Police shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and used to provide the service.

(B) Upon receiving a request from a federally licensed firearm dealer, gun show promoter, or gun show vendor, the Department of State Police shall immediately approve, or within the time period established by Section 24-3 of the Criminal Code of 2012 regarding the delivery of firearms, stun guns, and tasers notify the inquiring dealer, gun show promoter, or gun show vendor of any objection that would disqualify the transferee from acquiring or possessing a firearm, stun gun, or taser. In conducting the inquiry, the Department of State Police shall initiate and complete an automated search of its criminal history record information files and those of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and of the files of the Department of Human Services relating to mental health and developmental disabilities to obtain any felony conviction or patient hospitalization information which would disqualify a person from obtaining or require revocation of a currently valid Firearm Owner's Identification Card.

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The so called gun show loophole conceptually does exist. Works like this. There is a gun show in town populated with both dealers and private citizens. If the private citizen shows up to sell his gun at the show to another private citizen, there is no NICS check. Thus the "loophole" the other side is talking about. Of course this would be the same result whether the private citizen made that sale at a show or somewhere else, but the antis have focused on a gun show environment. Illinois has mitigated some of this with the now mandatory FOID check even for private sales, but the argument persists.

This is not true. Read 430 ILCS 65/3 (a5) and 3.1 of that same statute.

ANY firearm transferred on the grounds of a gun show must be done in accordance with the above statute. It is run through the ISP which includes multiple checks including the NICS check.

There is NO gun show loophole.

In Illinois.

 

Much of the wish list of the rabid anti-gun zealots is already the law in Illinois.

You have to look no further than Chicago to see how effective these laws are.

Even Darlene Glanton, one of the many anti-gun zealots at he Chicago Libune, admitted it.

 

. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-obama-gun-control-illinois-impact-met-20160105-9-story.html

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Thank you King for your clarification. I was thinking more about Federal Law. The federal rules for private sellers state they can’t give or sell a firearm to someone they know or reasonably believe is prohibited from owning a gun. They also can’t sell or transport firearms across state lines. But that’s pretty much it — although some 19 states (I believe) including Illinois have instituted their own background check requirements beyond federal law.

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