Gov. Quinn takes commonsense gun message to Saint Sabina

Another miracle when Ondelee Perteet waked alone

By Chinta Strausberg

 

Four-days before Father Michael L. Pfleger is scheduled to bring a busload of supporters to Springfield to lobby for commonsense gun laws, Gov. Pat Quinn came to Saint Sabina Church Sunday seeking  support in his fight to get commonsense gun laws passed including a ban on assault weapons he hopes will “silence the violence.”

Quinn, who as a child once attended Saint Sabina Church, said to achieve that goal lawmakers must “get commonsense gun safety legislation passed into law in Illinois” within the next two-months.

At Saint Sabina’s Sunday’s 11:15 a.m. worship service, yet another miracle took place when 18-year-old gunshot victim Ondelee Perteet, a quadriplegic who doctors said would never walk, once again shocked parishioners when he walked by himself from the back of the church to the altar to get communion from Father Pfleger. Last year, he stunned the church when he walked with the help of his walker. At that time, Pfleger called it a miracle.

After worship service and joined by Father Pfleger, Illinois Senator Jacqueline Collins (D-16^th), J’Marcus Webb and Brittan Golden from the Chicago Bears, Pat and Brandon who are keeping the peace in the Auburn Gresham community, Gov. Quinn echoed Father Pfleger’s earlier praise of Connecticut lawmakers who recently passed tough gun laws in the wake of the December 2012 massacre of 20 children and 6 adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Gov. Quinn praised his friend, Gov. Dannel Malloy, for signing legislation that bans more than 100 guns from being sold including those used by Adam Lanza, the shooter, who earlier killed his own mother before going to the school and slaughtering the children and adults.

“We’ve got to take that example and do it here in Illinois,” Quinn told reporters after worship service. “A group from this church and many other churches will be coming to Springfield (Thursday) to fight for commonsense gun safety legislation.

“We have to do something about these assault weapons,” he said especially limiting the high capacity ammunition magazines.

Quoting one of the Connecticut mothers, Quinn said, “The gunman had 300 bullets and fired 154 shots in just four-minutes at little children.” Quinn said these high capacity ammunition magazines have to be limited in Illinois as well as lost and stolen weapons he says must be reported. Quinn also wants universal background checks. Saying with Father Pfleger and Webb on his team, Quinn quipped, “We can’t lose.”

Referring to Saint Sabina’s Pat and Brandon, the street organization leaders keeping the peace in the Auburn Gresham community, Quinn said, “I think it is so important that in the neighborhood we have young men who could relate to those who would think in any way about violence…because we can’t have violence in a decent society.” “They’re in the neighborhood every day,” Quinn said vowing to come back to Saint Sabina and march down 79^th Street with Father Pfleger and his supporters.

Asked why is he going to churches with his message on gun reform, Quinn explained, “I think the people of good faith come together.” Referring to Perteet, who was shot four-years ago, Gov. Quinn said, “We saw today a man who was shot who made a recovery. He walked. He was in a wheelchair and now he’s walking because he believes in the power of prayer, and he believes in the power good people banding together for a cause he believes in.

“Dr. King lived in our city in 1966. He walked our streets. He ended discrimination and segregation because people of good faith who believed in non-violence came together to win the day, and we’ve got to do the same thing…,” Quinn told reporters outside of the church.

Thanking Quinn for coming to Saint Sabina, Pfleger said it takes this partnership including Senator Collins, a member of his church, to make gun reform a reality. “It’s shameful for me that it’s taken so long for Illinois” to pass a tough gun law.

“We’ve got to get everybody on board whether you’re downstate or whether you’re in Chicago. These are all of our babies. These are all of our children. So, you can’t say that’s not my problem because you’re in downstate Illinois. It’s all of our problem. This is a human condition. When we band together as good people across this state, we can do it and hopefully Illinois will join Connecticut in passing legislation.”

When asked the origin of the opposition for passing the gun bill, Gov. Quinn said, “There’s always going to be opposition to any good cause. We have to band together the people of good faith who believe in our cause. Senator Collins is our leader…. Now is the time. I am prepared to sign laws making our state safer by having commonsense (gun) legislation.”

Quinn said the next two months are critical in passing the law. “We’ve got to really rise up in the best traditions of Illinois and the righteous might of the every day people of our state to get some laws passed to protect the people. There is something wrong when they allow high capacity ammunition magazines and assault weapons to kill people. This is wrong, and we’re going to do something about it,” vowed Quinn.

Senator Colilns said all polls indicate people want commonsense gun legislation. “The think the NRA is the mouthpiece for the gun manufacturers and the lobbyists. Even the NRA members have said that they support commonsense gun legislation. Dr. King said the time is always right to do the right thing. This is the time,” Collins said.

Asked about Anne Smedinghoff, 25, a diplomat from River Forest who was killed Saturday in Afghanistan in an explosion, Quinn said she went to his high school. “I think it is very important that we honor Anne’s life. I mourn her loss. She was only 25-years-old. She was delivering books to children in Afghanistan” when she died in that explosion.

“We thank God for her purposeful life. I think it is important that we pray for her mortal soul…. She was well taught. She understands that social justice is why we’re here on earth. That is why she was so far away in Afghanistan trying to help every day people especially children. Her loss is a loss for the whole world, and we thank God for sending her our way,” said Quinn.

Asked by this writer his reaction to the rash of shootings that has taken so many lives especially children, Gov. Quinn quoted a writer who said, “The birth of a baby of God’s opinion of the world should go on, and I think we’d better take those words to heart. If God wants our world to go on, we’d better protect our babies, our children whether they are in New Town, Connecticut or Colorado or right here in Chicago, Illinois, it’s out duty…the living to make sure we protect our children and all our people.”

As governor, Quinn vowed to “fight as hard as I can with every fiber in my being to try and get some commonsense laws ending these high capacity ammunition magazines that are used by murderers to kill children and others.”

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host. You can e-mail Strausberg at: Chintabernie@aol.com.