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Chicago Right to Carry Town Hall - Logan Square


Molly B.

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I doubt there will be much chance of actual news coverage, but maybe we can catch the attention of John Kass at the Tribune. I've enjoyed his pieces on RTC.

 

A plea for a few inches of column space was made to John KASS last week but I happen to know that her has an editor who kelps him on a leash - a long for sure but one who does have a lot of influence over what he writes.

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CBS local news reports on the Monday, Feb 20 Logan Square at the end of this piece:

 

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/02/17/woman-who-shot-intruder-in-home-advocates-conceal-carry-legislation/

 

Molly B. wrote that Radie, the woman interviewed by CBS news, will be one of our speakers tonight

 

http://illinoiscarry.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=28979

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Mrs. FF recently purchased a projector for conducting training, but also for these events. She got a great deal on a folding screen, but it turns out the screen dimensions are 9' x 12'. Yep. Tried to figure out how it sets up, but it is too darn big even in our living room. Going to have to save this for outdoor events.
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WBEZ 91.5 NPR public radio had a one minute blurb featuring the Town hall meeting around 4pm this afternoon. It sounded favorable.

 

 

http://www.wbez.org/story/gun-rights-groups-host-meeting-chicagos-northwest-side-96573

 

 

Gun rights advocates are conducting a town hall meeting in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood tonight. The Illinois Rifle Association and other gun rights groups are expected at the meeting. The groups say they aim to educate citizens on the right to carry concealed handguns in public and to gather support for a reintroduction of a concealed-carry bill in Illinois.

 

Illinois is currently the only state in the country that does not permit concealed guns to be carried in public.

 

Miguel Nogueras lives near the Logan Square neighborhood on the Northwest Side. He is among local residents who pushed for the gun rights forum after several violent incidents in the area.

 

Nogueras says he encountered a pointed gun twice--once right outside his own home. “The criminal element knows we are unarmed,” he says. He believes that concealed carry will level the playing field between criminals and victims and act as a deterrent for those who think about committing a crime.

 

“I think as we have more of those discussions, hopefully the citizens will rise up and push their elected officials to vote finally to allow for citizens to be able to defend themselves in this state,” said Nogueras.

 

A concealed-carry bill was introduced last year, and ended up six votes short of passing in the Illinois House.

 

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It ended just before 9, and CBS was there for a while, along with some other media whose identities I don't know. I'd say about 50-75 people were there.

 

What was the general tone of the meeting?

 

T

 

The tone was all positive. Although there was a Chicago police officer that tried to hijack the "question and answer" segment with a rant about Chicago politicians...

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It ended just before 9, and CBS was there for a while, along with some other media whose identities I don't know. I'd say about 50-75 people were there.

 

What was the general tone of the meeting?

 

T

 

The tone was all positive. Although there was a Chicago police officer that tried to hijack the "question and answer" segment with a rant about Chicago politicians...

 

I believe he was a precinct captain, and not a police officer, unless I missed that.

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Yes, the tone was all very positive, no anti-RTC people to disrupt the speakers. Very, very intense crowd,

attentive and many stayed afterwards to ask questions and talk. The police officer I think was trying to make

a statement about what we are up against in this fight against the Chicago machine and how powerful it is.

 

I didn't get to count the crowd. I was hoping for 50-75 or so since this was more of a neighborhood type

meeting instead of our usual county-wide type meetings. I was VERY pleased with the turnout and with the

large number of news media who came. I'm sure different ones will pop in with the media they encountered.

A reporter with the Chicago Tribune was there. Univision ran the meeting as their lead story and broadcast live

from Logan Square. Several other neighborhood papers were there as well as some college media.

 

One thing I found very exciting was getting to meet some individuals who are very influential in the Puerto

Rican and Hispanic community who want to see more of these meetings throughout their community and are

willing to help make that happen! One gentleman paid for advertising on a prominent radio program.

 

Overall, a very positive meeting and have full confidence it will lead to further discussions and meetings in our favor!

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I just got back from the meeting. I did a quick head count to the best of my ability and it looked like 85 people or so (including speakers and booth tables). I think the seats were about 1/2 full. Overall it was very positive but I would have liked to see the entire place packed. I must say it was rather loud in there, cool old building but with the creaky wooden floors and people around the sides talking while some of the speakers spoke. Maybe it was quieter up front but I was near the back. I saw 2 news vans parked out front and they were inside. CBS and some other. I stuck around until the speakers were done and a few questions asked. I saw a lot of familiar faces and that is good, but we need to continue to draw more new people in if we are to change opinions considering CCW here in Chicago.

 

 

BTW

I purchased the 1st place winning ticket for the Springfield Handguns while there, but there is still hope for all of you to get that 2nd place ticket. :whistle: :thumbsup:

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It was very nice to see so many of you lovely people again tonight, as well as Otis McDonald and his wife, candidate Vincent Romano, our usual tireless second amendment superstars, and some very enthused area residents, who, on the whole, seemed pretty relieved not to find themselves alone in seeking second amendment rights. Some knew it will be a reinstatement of our rights, some did not know this and were simply glad to know there is hope and support for the end of being powerless.

 

The speeches were enjoyable; everyone brought something new to the table and, as our M.C. told us in closing, there was some good educatin' to be had (ok, I paraphrased --- she said she had learned a lot). Mind you, our M.C. had been a newswoman for more than 20 years ...

 

Radie's words and delivery packed a lot of punch. It would have been impossible not to be moved by her delivery, pace and eye contact as she related her experiences against men whose violence and physical power outpaced her own -- but not that of the firearm with which she capably defended herself.

 

Molly mixes calm and passion more magically everytime I hear her, allowing you to easily feel the terror of being unarmed and the sensibility of being seen as a human being with dignity by other states. She sprinkles this magic with common sense fact and, by the time she's done, careful listeners have learned a textbook's worth of how very different and ridiculous the laws and politicians of Illinois are in comparison to the rest of America.

 

Andre Queen is the kind of speaker to which toastmasters aspire. If we ever reach a point where there are no more Illinoisians left to train and certify, he could have a very successful career teaching public speaking.

 

This was the first time I'd heard Marie Queen speak, and the warmth of her personality comes through in most every sentence she speaks. Very easy for the women in the audience, especially, to relate to her words.

 

Mike Weisman was as engaging as ever. His style keeps the audience alert, with the nuances of voice and tone and volume he brings, and it's gratifying to have him on any panel, as I know he will always be abreast of the most recent events and news, and include them in his presentation with an eye on how they affect those of us who live here. Mike is one of those rare individuals who honestly has something in common with people of any race or neighborhood, and it is never long before those to whom he speaks feel the same strong level of comfort that he does in speaking with them.

 

Ed Arroyo, chief of police for the city of Hinckley, IL rounded out the panel of speakers. For (I believe?) 30 years prior to that position, he'd been an ATF officer. It was good to have him and his wealth of experience speaking out to the audience from the LEO perspective. It really put paid to the white shirt statements trotted out by the CPD -- whose blue shirted beat officers, as everyone knows, have been asking for citizen carry for years.

 

In fact, as echoed by one of the reporters at tonight's meeting, there have been noticeably fewer of these mouthpieces at each meeting, and fewer citizens quoting the misconceptions fed to us over the past few decades. Imagine: 30 years of misinformation taught to Chicagoans concerning firearm truths ... and in less than two years of the truth finally crossing our city border -- our citizenry are no longer accepting what they were once told. Ah, the power of relying upon our own eyes and ears!

 

All in all, I agree with Molly wholeheartedly: attentive crowd, great panel, eager residents, friendly newspeople -- and priceless volunteers!

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A note from Miguel Nogueras, the gentleman who invited us to host a community meeting in this neighborhood.

 

My interview with WBEZ regarding tonight's forum. I was surprised that WBEZ did a decent job reporting on our town hall meeting! Thank you Valinda, Mike, Paula, Illinois Carry, ISRA, and everyone involved for bringing the forum to our community, it had a positive impact that will continue to vibrate throughout the community for days, months, and years to come!

 

http://www.wbez.org/story/gun-rights-groups-host-meeting-chicagos-northwest-side-96573

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CBS just had a VERY short piece up, showing a few seconds of Radi talking, a quick crowd shot, and then they ended with saying the Chicago Police think there are already too many guns on the street.

 

How many Chicago LEO agencies have passed resolutions in support of ccw? 2 now?

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CBS just had a VERY short piece up, showing a few seconds of Radi talking, a quick crowd shot, and then they ended with saying the Chicago Police think there are already too many guns on the street.

 

How many Chicago LEO agencies have passed resolutions in support of ccw? 2 now?

 

I believe the seargeants and lieutenants associations.

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It was am amazing event and I can not explain how impressed I was with Molly, Radie and the rest of the speakers. I mean truly an amazing job, presentation and impact, from all speakers at different levels.

 

I can not thank them enough for what they do. The time, courage and effort to put on these events and tell their stories is outstanding. It was also great to be among friends old and new.

 

Vince

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