vito

How can I change the size of the font of threads in the forums? Everything shows up in very small font size.

Pritzker's new gun storage law is now in effect, but I wonder how it will be enforced. ISP raiding homes in the middle of the night? Or only going after someone who has legally used their gun at home in a self defense shooting who are then found to not own a proper storage container for when the gun is not being carried?

I do the opposite. I promote concealed carry as often as I can, unless the listener is adverse to even discussing it. The two things I tell most often are: the reality that the police cannot protect you, i.e. "when seconds count the police are only minutes away", and secondly, that concealed carry is a better response than hoping the thug that is thinking of killing or maiming you might show you some mercy. I agree that the barriers here in IL discourage many from seeking the license to carry. The cost of training, the cost of the application, and the initial cost of the gun itself all work to discourage people, especially those of lower economic standing. Add to that the requirement that the interested person first has to apply for and receive a FOID before even starting the CC process, and it ensures that only the most motivated seek the license.

When I started this thread I said 10 years. I should have said 11. The first licenses were issued in early 2014.

As to "not missing", maybe some here are so expert at their marksmanship that even under the stress of being attacked or observing a violent crime taking place they would be sure that every round fired ended up in the body of the thug, but I doubt many here are really that good. I have never been in a situation where my ability to hit the target has been tested, but seeing multiple videos over the years of police officers emptying their high capacity semi autos and not hitting the criminal that they are aiming at, convinces me that missing at least some rounds fired is the reasonable expectation, not the exception.

Not really. I have a daughter who lives there so we are in Madison fairly often. I always carry and have never had a problem other than the one I wrote about at the start of this thread. And in WI, if you are discovered carrying in a posted location, all that can be done is to ask you to leave. Only if you refuse to leave can you end up with an arrest for trespassing.

It was Overture Hall in Madison, WI.

I recently had the occasion to go to a venue in Madison, WI that unbeknowst to me not only banned firearms, but had metal detectors at the entrance. But since a "No Guns" sign in WI does not have the power of the law as it does in IL, all I was asked to do was to return to my car to leave the firearm there. I think that it would be a win-win for those against concealed carriers on their property if the law required every entity that puts the sign on their doors also clearly and prominently state such on their website. In that way concealed carriers would be doubly informed of the restriction, and potential visitors would be made aware of the organization's desire to have patrons defenseless before they ever arrive at the entrance. It really is a pain to have to walk back to where a car is parked, and then to discreetly put your gun in the car without making it obvious and thereby inviting the local thug to break into your car. To be honest, the venue I refer to above, in Wisconsin, had the metal detectors turned off, but I didn't know that. My hesitation in walking through the detector is what made the security staff focus on me, and when I was questioned, I did not deny that I was armed. My mistake might have been more consequential had it occurred in Illinois.

When there is a mindset that anyone with a gun must be involved in criminal behavior, these type incidents will continue.

In this state, I would not even consider drawing my legally concealed firearm to intervene in a matter not affecting myself or a member of my family. The risk of arrest, and all that goes with that, as well as the risk of civil lawsuits, would be enough for me to just be a witness, possibly calling 911 if observing a crime in progress. Call me callous if you want to, but in this gun-hating state, and especially in gun-hating Chicago, I am not interested in trying to be a hero and end up like Daniel Penny did in NYC.

For people with very little self respect, every disagreement with others can be seen as threatening to their already fragile ego. So when the employee refused to provide a free sandwich because the original supposedly contained the wrong type of cheese, the customer likely saw this interaction as a gross case of "disrespect". How many times have we seen or read about massive brawls in restaurants, airports, shopping malls and elsewhere because one person believed that someone had "disrespected" them? All of this is really a result of a dysfunctional culture for a sizable part of our population. The only consolation is that this violence is mostly contained within the population that adheres to their dysfunctional culture.

More than once I have been asked by friends or family who live in gun friendly states, how I can tolerate being here in Illinois which is led by rabidly anti-gun Pritzker and the Leftist Democrats. I've told people that on a practical level, its tolerable even if not ideal. Yes, getting a FOID is an irritant, but no more than that. Waiting to pick up a gun that I have paid a LGS for is annoying, but again, tolerable. And ever since concealed carry was legalized here I have felt able to carry most anywhere that I wanted to go. So overall, while I would still prefer to live somewhere else, I have few gun related issues with this Left dominated state. On the plus side, since my military pension and my SS payments are not taxable by the State, the state income tax is mostly a non issue for me. I am not sure how many other states would be as good for me in that regard. And since my wife would not consider moving away from the area that we live in, to remain close to family and her friends, I don't think we are going anywhere in any case. I still vote, but I am not sure it makes any difference here and that is a bigger irritant than 2nd Amendment issues.

That's exactly what I thought when I read about this tragedy. I carry concealed whenever I leave my house, and that includes when I visit the homes of any of my grown children both here in IL and in WI. The gun never leaves my pocket or holster on my belt. When I have stayed overnight at one of my kid's homes, the gun is right with me when sleeping, and with me whenever I use the bathroom. Having young and not so young grandchildren, I never, ever take the risk of leaving my gun anywhere where it possibly could fall into the hands of someone else. And you can buy a small steel gun box for about $30 which is easy to keep in your suitcase and secure enough to be safe from children's curiosity.

I used an AI site to find the number of licensed individuals in IL, and compared that to the total official population. It came to 3.4% had CCL's. I have no data on how many IL residents are too young, or otherwise ineligible for a CCL but 3.4% just seemed too low to be meaningful in terms of possibly changing the perception of the thugs that it might not be safe for them to commit their crimes due to the presence of armed civilians who might shoot them. And I have no idea of how many who have a license do not carry most of the time. I personally know of some who never carry because they think that there is no need to do so, or their only gun is too big to easily conceal or any other number of reasons. The bottom line is that I doubt that we as people licensed to carry, and who do actually carry daily, make much of a difference in terms of seeing violent crime reduced. I carry for my own protection, and to give me at least a fighting chance against the animals but it would be nice if armed civilians became more numerous and made the criminals less comfortable when plying their trade.

I’m surprised.