25 replies to this topic

[Ritte]

If this is in the wrong area feel free to move it. I thought this should be brought to everyone attention. This was in the Norride Harwood Hieghts News.

February 14, 2011

By DEBORAH BAYLISS dbayliss@pioneerlocal.com
The Norridge Board of Trustees unanimously approved a revised weapons ordinance after failing to prevent a gun selling business from opening in town in 2010.

"We had a fellow who wanted to open a gun selling business and we said no way," said Trustee Dominic Falagario. "We fought him on it. We went back and forth. Our ordinance was not enough to keep him out and now he has a gun selling business he opened last year in Norridge on conditions and we now have a much stronger ordinance."

As a result, an ordinance reenacting weapons dealers licensing and amending associated fees and penalties was approved at the Feb. 9 board meeting. The ordinance further states that the villages' current weapons dealer licensee must cease doing business in the village no later than April 30, 2013.

"The intention in amending the ordinance is to ensure that when guns are legally and readily available we have legislation to curb their illegitimate or inappropriate use," said Mayor Ron Oppedisano.

On terms of the conditions under which a business owner is contractually obligated, weapons are not allowed on the retail premise and the licensee can only operate as a mail-order business under all state and federal gun regulations. Any samples or orders that come in must be kept under lock and key. The licensee is also required to have a burglar alarm.

The definition of a weapons dealer, according to the ordinance, pertains to any person who sells, rents or transfers firearms or their component parts, including pawnbrokers. Weapons can also include a dagger, stiletto, derringer, bowie knife, dirk, stun gun/taser or any other deadly weapon that can be carried or concealed on the person or any firearm or ammunition listed in the ordinance.

A pre-emption clause in the ordinance allows for pre-emption of all Cook County licensing or other regulatory schemes for firearms and firearms dealers. If a county ordinance conflicts with an ordinance of a municipality, the municipality's ordinance will prevail within its jurisdiction.

"It's so strong, I don't think anybody would want to come here. We only have the one weapons business here that we are aware of."

According to information contained in the ordinance, the four closest weapons dealers to Norridge are located in Lincolnwood, Elmwood Park, Des Plains and Melrose Park.

The ordinance also limited the number of available weapons dealer licenses in the village to one license and states that category of business license will be terminated by April 30, 2013.

"People sometimes feel it's too much government, but it's an attempt to benefit the community. We're doing everything we can to benefit the community, said Falagario.


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  riccardo a. "rick" mora wrote:
We're doing everything we can to benefit the community, said Falagario.

As long as the community is their friends and family, salaries, raises and benefits that exceed those in the private sector will continue. Maybe if the shop owner had been a relative, things may have been different.

While I would not want a gun shop on every corner, the village could have handled this matter better rather than to discourage store owners from opening businesses here in Norridge
2/14/2011 5:42 PM CST on pioneerlocal.com
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[Davey]

Quote

"The intention in amending the ordinance is to ensure that when guns are legally and readily available we have legislation to curb their illegitimate or inappropriate use," said Mayor Ron Oppedisano.

I don't get this.  The ordinance was clearly meant to run a perfectly good tax paying business out of town.  I'm sure it was a source of local jobs as well.

How does running a business out of town curb inappropriate use of legally bought guns?

Oh, duh, *smacks forehead*, Norridge is next door to Chicago.  I used to live right on Irving Park Road, in Schiller Park, which leads straight into Norridge.  So glad I moved.  Wish I had a way to get my parents out of there.

Quote

A pre-emption clause in the ordinance allows for pre-emption of all Cook County licensing or other regulatory schemes for firearms and firearms dealers. If a county ordinance conflicts with an ordinance of a municipality, the municipality's ordinance will prevail within its jurisdiction.

Let's not forget this big "F You Very Much".  Christ.

[spec4]

It would seem the current dealer would have grounds to sue them.  Any lawyers on board to comment?

[Ashrak]

When the exercise of a inalienable right is ceded to permission slip processes, this is the eventual outcome. This is why creating licensing structures and permission structures, especially where they do not exist, is the wrong direction to go.

Willingly ceding authority over inalienable rights in hopes that exercise will be allowed, most especially regarding enumerated rights, leads to abuse and denial of them.

[Buzzard]

spec4, on 15 February 2011 - 08:23 AM, said:

It would seem the current dealer would have grounds to sue them.  Any lawyers on board to comment?

I'm sure their city attorney had a look at this or probably even had a hand in it. We'll see.

Sadly - I am not a lawyer. I can't even get through a court decision without practically going to sleep.

Why can't they spice those things up a bit??

[mstrat]

This precisely illustrates the problem with letting the government take an inch of power at a time.

Over time those inches add up and you find your business being shut down by the government for no reason other than a dislike/fear of your product or service.  This isn't democracy. This isn't liberty. This isn't freedom.

[Joeyl]

mstrat, on 15 February 2011 - 09:49 AM, said:

This precisely illustrates the problem with letting the government take an inch of power at a time.

Over time those inches add up and you find your business being shut down by the government for no reason other than a dislike/fear of your product or service.  This isn't democracy. This isn't liberty. This isn't freedom.

Exactly,    two pistols I possess were originally bought in Chicago stores. By the time I was old enough to get my foid, you could at least still buy Rifle/shotgun ammo in the city. Little by little freedoms get infringed and many people in the city have forgotten that guns were once readily available by all and was a non-issue. Anyway, I couldn't find any info on a gun shop in Norridge? Anyone know where it is?

[TomKoz]

mstrat, on 15 February 2011 - 09:49 AM, said:

This precisely illustrates the problem with letting the government take an inch of power at a time.

Over time those inches add up and you find your business being shut down by the government for no reason other than a dislike/fear of your product or service.  This isn't democracy. This isn't liberty. This isn't freedom.

You are right.  This is total FUBAR !!

Hopefully he can sue the city and each individual board member !~!

[ishmo]

mstrat, on 15 February 2011 - 09:49 AM, said:

This precisely illustrates the problem with letting the government take an inch of power at a time.

Over time those inches add up and you find your business being shut down by the government for no reason other than a dislike/fear of your product or service. This isn't democracy. This isn't liberty. This isn't freedom.

What's the difference between a wife and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a wife but not a terrorist. Substitute government for terrorist and it's pretty clear what the options are.

Eta No offense to the ladies on the board or the guys who have a better half

[Xwing]

Wow.  They worry about “illegal” guns, and decide that the only way to stop the “illegal” gun sales is to prevent the only way of legal, legitimate sales.  So but stopping legal sales from a law-abiding gun dealer, that will somehow stop the “illegal” ones?  Does anyone on their side even consider their backward, gravity-defying (as well as liberty-defying) logic?

[Ghost Firearms]

Joeyl, on 15 February 2011 - 08:49 PM, said:

mstrat, on 15 February 2011 - 09:49 AM, said:

This precisely illustrates the problem with letting the government take an inch of power at a time.

Over time those inches add up and you find your business being shut down by the government for no reason other than a dislike/fear of your product or service.  This isn't democracy. This isn't liberty. This isn't freedom.

Exactly,    two pistols I possess were originally bought in Chicago stores. By the time I was old enough to get my foid, you could at least still buy Rifle/shotgun ammo in the city. Little by little freedoms get infringed and many people in the city have forgotten that guns were once readily available by all and was a non-issue. Anyway, I couldn't find any info on a gun shop in Norridge? Anyone know where it is?

It's Amazing what Google can do! Here I was searching IL State gun laws and I found this little post about me. Yes, believe it or not but I am the infamous gun dealer of Norridge, IL.

First off, before I set the record straight, let me do some shameless advertising and make a plea for donations to fight the Anti-2nd Amendment politicians in Norridge.

www.ghostfirearms.com Ghost Firearms on gunbroker.com and PLEASE, PLEASE send donations - $1.00, $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, $100.00.. any amount is not too small -  via PayPal to info@ghostfirearms.com. All donations will strictly go to paying legal fees to fight this unjust and unconstitutional attack on a Lawful Business. And of course, thank you for your support.

So, on to the truth.

After the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Otis McDonald and against King Daley and his cronies, I decided to start a business selling firearms to Law Enforcement, Hunters, Sportsmen, and Law-abiding citizens as close to Chicago as possible. After extensive research and time spent, I found Norridge. Norridge had an ordinance permitting weapons dealers and is a home-rule municipality which effectively trumped the Cook County Ordinance. I reached out to Norridge prior to securing commercial space effectively asking for their blessing and in attempt to initiate dialog so as to address safety and other concerns. A certain Norridge Public Official verified that it was a permitted use to engage in this business and provided me with zoning requirements for my "shop." After relying on this information, I signed a lease for commercial space and sat back while my FFL was processed. ATF called to set up and inspection and all was presumed good. Then, while enroute to my ATF inspection, I received a call by ATF cancelling the inspection because Norridge would not give the okay to proceed.

I then make conciliatory gestures to the village committing that I would enter into a written agreement that would limit the way my business would operate. Unfortunately the Trustees wouldn't budge. So, I then turned to my attorney and Norridge received a letter demanding compensation for the financial damages Norridge had caused my business to suffer.

Shortly thereafter, the Village Attorney - Mark V. Chester, contacted me and played the "I don't see what the problem is" game with me. "Why was I being so confrontational?" "This is a permitted use under the law." So, I sent him the list of concessions that I was willing to make and we met a few days later. And here's the interesting part... The Village Attorney said in a face-to-face meeting that all of the resistance that the Mayor and the Trustees were "putting up were because they wanted to protect their political careers God Forbid something should ever happen." He then went on to say that the "reason this law was on the books is because K-Mart approached the Village lobbying them to permit the sale of firearms and ammunition in Norridge or else they would relocate their store which would cause the Village to lose tax revenues." Eventually, K-Mart voluntarily stopped selling guns and ammo and everyone forgot about this law.

So I made a business decision. I entered into a very restrictive agreement with the Village which is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution in order to get the ATF to come out. The plan was to get the business going and then move the hell out to a more friendly town.

So here are some of the restrictions:

1. Limited to an unreasonable amount of firearms and ammo received per month.

2. No physical deliveries of firearms or ammo on the premises - not even to Law Enforcement. (When I pushed for LE, the Village Attorney said "No. Let's face it, even cops are nuts."

3. Village will only renew my license for 2 years and exempt me from any changes until then.

4. No storage of ammo or firearms. So, I receive payment from a customer, order it from the warehouse, receive it, book it, and slap a label on it and send it out the same day. Sure makes life complicated.

5. No displays.

6. Random and unannounced inspections by the Norridge PD.

So, after receiving the language of this new ordinance, my corporate attorney recommended that i retain a 2nd amendment attorney for representation. Additionally, he thought that I should contact the IL Attorney General but I think we all know that she is hostile to our rights.

So, Ghost Firearms has been selling online and shipping out to other dealers across the nation.

So I ask for your support. If you have friends that live out of state, please encourage them to purchase from Ghost as I am not required to collect sales tax on out of state transactions and therefore Norridge will not receive any tax revenue from my business. Ghost Firearms has very competitive prices on everything we carry. We are the one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, on Trijicon and other optics.

I and Ghost Firearms are proud members of the NRA, ISRA, and NSSF. Please support us and never stop fighting for you Constitutional Rights.

Thank you,
Tony

[Tvandermyde]

my suggestion is to contact Bill Howard, he won the lawsuit for the dealers when Chicago sued them

[Yas]

Tony from what I gathered from Dicks sporting goods in Orland Park Illinois a few years back they had a similar issue, The city told them that firearms and ammo would be welcome for sales and when they took over the physical store from the Galyans buyout,  suddenly the village fathers had a loss of memory.   They demanded all firearms and ammunition be removed from sale at the storefront.  Tho Galyans did sell and stock same items there before that merger in the store.    This is also the same mall  where was a gunshop and indoor range less than a thousand yards further south formerly known as  Target masters .   I have no idea if the Corporate office for Dicks is still holding a grudge, but they might want to help you after getting burned at Orland.

[Ghost Firearms]

Legal update:

Ghost Industries and myself as an individual filed a Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit against the Village, the Village President, and the Trustees on June 7th. They were all served at the Board meeting the following day. The suit alleges 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, & 14th Amendment violations in addition to violations of the Sherman Anti-trust Act. Maybe the powers that be will come to their senses finally.

Please send donations via PayPal to: info@ghostfirearms or contact me directly for mailing instructions. Fighting for rights guaranteed by the Constitution is not cheap. Please help with whatever amount that you can - no amount is too small.

Thankfully,
Tony

[abolt243]

Do you have a link to the suit itself??  Many here like to read the legal documents in the many cases we have ongoing.  

Thanks,
AB

[USArmyRet]

I like fighters. I'll send ya a few bucks as soon as I see my final legal Bill for my present situation.  

[lieut89]

I've found it. http://206.18.146.25...le/11cv3871.pdf

[Ghost Firearms]

lieut89, on 09 June 2011 - 02:30 PM, said:

I've found it. http://206.18.146.25...le/11cv3871.pdf

That is it indeed. Thanks for finding it for all of the law-abiding 2nd Amendment fighters.

It is a very serious law suit and I hope that it helps law abiding Americans for decades to come.

[lieut89]

Perhaps the power that be here will consider moving this over to the judicial 2A forum. This looks like a good case from what I have been reading. Good luck Mr. Cole.

[abolt243]

lieut89, on 09 June 2011 - 03:20 PM, said:

Perhaps the power that be here will consider moving this over to the judicial 2A forum. This looks like a good case from what I have been reading. Good luck Mr. Cole.

Thanks for posting the link to the suit.

AB

[Ghost Firearms]

Link to article in the local paper about the law suit.

http://norridge.sunt...g-norridge.html

Please continue to send donations via PayPal or check. Thank you to all that have contributed.... your donations are not just assisting me in my legal battle but will help set the precedents that all law-abiding citizens choosing to exercise their 2nd amendment rights need to ensure that their rights will not be taken for granted.

Via PayPal: info@ghostfirearms.com

US Mail: Ghost Industries, LLC
7601 W. Montrose Ave., Suite 2
Norridge, IL 60706

Via CC by phone: 773-675-2855

Thank you,
Tony

[Davey]

Ghost Firearms, on 21 June 2011 - 06:32 AM, said:

Link to article in the local paper about the law suit.

http://norridge.sunt...g-norridge.html

Thanks for the link.  I hope you come out on top.

After reading the first paragraph I already hate the writer of the article.

Quote

Norridge officials aren’t commenting about the recent lawsuit brought against them by a local gun dealer who is being represented by Drew Peterson’s lawyer.

Really we have to point out that it's the same lawyer representing Drew Peterson?  I'm sorry, how is this relevant?

edit:

Okay after reading the whole thing the article actually seems a little slanted to our friend's side here.

I used to live a couple miles from Norridge right down Irving.  I used to love the place I grew up in.  Now I can't stand the place.

[Mr. Fife]

It's my understanding that Walter Maksym is an extremely competent Constitutional lawyer.

Now what would reporter Deborah Bayliss (dbayliss@pioneerlocal.com) know about things like this?

Ah, what can you expect from the same reporter you brought you the Earth shattering news story about Jenny McCarthy visiting a coat store?

Real Pulitzer Prize material that is. I guess all we can expect from her is stories such as this this drivel.

My link



You are what you write Deborah.

[Ghost Firearms]

Mr. Fife, on 21 June 2011 - 09:15 PM, said:

It's my understanding that Walter Maksym is an extremely competent Constitutional lawyer.

Now what would reporter Deborah Bayliss (dbayliss@pioneerlocal.com) know about things like this?

Ah, what can you expect from the same reporter you brought you the Earth shattering news story about Jenny McCarthy visiting a coat store?

Real Pulitzer Prize material that is. I guess all we can expect from her is stories such as this this drivel.

My link



You are what you write Deborah.

The story ran in the Sun Times today 6/25/11: http://www.suntimes....by-village.html

My attorney is NOT Drew Peterson's defense attorney. I think that he is representing Peterson in some sort of made-for-tv movie issue. I cannot agree with you more... here we have a journalist that is supposed to present news without any bias and yet the first paragraph links me, my company, and gun shop owners in general with a defendant in a criminal case that has absolutely no connection with me, my company, and gun shop owners in general. It appears that someone at the Sun Times realized this fact as it was omitted from the article.

Please donate.

Thank you.

Text of article:
Norridge gun shop owner Tony Kole says he’s open for business — but customers are having a hard time finding him.

And for that he’s suing the northwest suburb, which he says is preventing him from putting a sign on his business.

“He sometimes can’t take delivery of his mail because he’s prevented from posting the name of his business,” said Kole’s lawyer, Walter Maksym.

“It’s ridiculous and unconstitutional and infringes on his First Amendment rights if he can’t advertise or identify his business.”

Kole’s federal suit against Norridge says his company, Ghost Industries, applied for the necessary permits to open a weapons dealership in the suburb in early 2011, after a U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 ruling that stated individuals’ rights to bear arms applied to state and local gun control laws.

“Without legal authority and in violation of the Constitution, my client, a federally licensed firearms dealer, was delayed by the village when he initially applied for a weapons dealers business license in Norridge,” Maksym said.

“When village officials realized they couldn’t stop him from obtaining a gun dealer’s license, they arbitrarily imposed more restrictions on him without any legal basis.”

After failing to keep Kole from opening, Maksym said, his client was restricted by the village from advertising.

“These restrictions were not in the original ordinance so they changed the ordinance,” said Maksym.

According to court documents, the suit alleges village officials eventually agreed to grant the license, but only if Kole signed an agreement with “severe restrictions regarding the volume of business Ghost Industries could do,” and that he could not receive, deliver or store weapons on the premises, in addition to not be able to advertise.

The amended weapons ordinance also states the board wants to set the number of available weapons dealer licenses to one, terminate that category of business license no later than April 30, 2013, and that the current weapons dealer agreed to cease doing business in the village no later than April 30, 2013.

Maksym said his client never agreed that he would stop doing business in 2013.

Mark Chester, attorney for Norridge, declined to comment.

[Mr. Fife]

Ghost Firearms, on 25 June 2011 - 10:48 AM, said:

It appears that someone at the Sun Times realized this fact as it was omitted from the article.

The Sun Times article looks like a completely different article. See under the words SunTimes. where it says Pulitzer Prize winner? They probably told her to straighten up or ship out.

[Ghost Firearms]

Mr. Fife, on 25 June 2011 - 10:56 AM, said:

Ghost Firearms, on 25 June 2011 - 10:48 AM, said:

It appears that someone at the Sun Times realized this fact as it was omitted from the article.

The Sun Times article looks like a completely different article. See under the words SunTimes. where it says Pulitzer Prize winner? They probably told her to straighten up or ship out.

LOL