Pro Concealed Carry group targets pols for defeat

 

State Rep. Colvin: “The bill is flawed.”

State Rep. Davis: “I won’t be threatened.”

 

By Chinta Strausberg

 

It was a teachable moment at WVON where a pro-concealed carry group hosted a town hall meeting demanding state lawmakers pass the controversial bill or face defeat but where Rep. Marlow Colvin (D-33^rd) said it is “flawed” and that the “devil is in the details.”

Pressing the emotional buttons of African Americans, the group showed a video that depicted racism in executing gun control laws where during the slave era blacks were legally banned from owning guns and laws passed to include race for buyers of weapons. The video also included scenes of slaves with lash marks on their backs and notices posted saying slaves had no right to own guns.

The pro-gun group even went so far as to accuse elected officials who voted against the pro-concealed carry bill (HB 148) of committing “treason.”

Hosted by The 2^nd Amendment Collective in conjunction with several other pro-gun groups, they rented WVON’s Legacy Center, 1000 E. 87^th St. for their town hall meeting. WVON’s Cliff Kelley, who favors the bill, was Masters of Ceremony.

They packed the room and were quite vocal in issuing veil threats of political revenge if the bill, which is shy six votes of passage, fails again during the October veto session.

While leaders of this pro pro-concealed carry group didn’t mince words on their legislative foes, they boldly put Colvin on the hot seat because of his continued opposition to the bill.

However, Colvin stood his ground shrugging off allegations by one irate man who loudly accused him and his peers who voted against the bill of committing “treason.”

Rep. Brandon W. Phelps (D-118TH) whom Colvin called “an honorable guy” sponsored the controversial HB 148. Phelps’ bill authorizes the county sheriff to issue permits to carry concealed firearms to those who are.  It also calls for mandatory firearm training developed by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board that includes classroom instruction along with live firing exercises.

The legislation also preempts home rule, and it calls for additional hiring and equipment needed to effectively carry out the mandates once passed. The estimated cost to carry out these mandates is around $720,000.

Colvin said the General Assembly will go back to the veto session at the end of October and that it is Phelps’ call to bring the bill to the floor for a vote since he is the sponsor.

However, Colvin made it clear, “If he brings the same bill back, it is unlikely that a lot of people will change their positions on it,” said Colvin saying Phelps has been open to a lot of discussions.

But, referring to Shawn Gowder, vice president of The Chicago Firearms Safety Association, who said his group has compromised enough and will not tolerate any further watering down of the bill, Colvin said there has been some compromise.

“There has been some give on this issue with respect to that bill, but those of us in Cook County and the City of Chicago, from my perspective, are pretty much still opposed” to HB 148, said Colvin.

“I think this bill is flawed because it creates one overwhelming policy with a charge of governing the actions of 12.8 million people,” said Colvin. “I think we have to sometimes allow for the differences in geography in the state of Illinois. We do it in a lot of issues, but we chose not to do so on this bill.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to be putting more guns on the street when we pass this bill. Whether or not it’s good or bad is in the details of the bill,” said Colvin. Saying he’s been talking about this bill with his constituents to “get a real feel” for the consensus, Colvin those in his district oppose it.

“That does not mean they are right or wrong. It means they have an opinion,” Colvin said crediting the town hall “highly partisan” bur informative meeting. “The devil is always in the details. It’s not the bill that gets drafted, it’s how we implement policy.” Colvin said this issue is not going away.

Asked about promises that this group will run an opponent against him, Colvin said, “I have run five times, and the one thing I can promise you is that somebody will run against me…. This is one issue I have to deal with.”

Gerald Vernon, the Chicago spokesperson for IllinoisCarry.com, said, “In 1968, they banned the sale of handguns and handgun ammunition within the Chicago city limits. In 1982, they banned the possession of handguns within the city limits.

“In 1994, they banned the possession of assault rifles; therefore, by 2010, 42-years after the 1968 handgun ban, Chicago should have been substantially safer in 2010 than it was in 1968. Do statistics bear that out”? he asked.

But, Father Michael L. Pfleger, who attended a similar pro-conceal carry forum hosted by Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-8^th) on the West Side, asked, “If the NRA and the gun pushers are serious about responsible gun ownership, why do they fight us trying to close the loop holes and title guns just like cars”?

Answering his own question, Pfleger added, “The answer is because the number one consumer of guns is the criminal and stopping easy access means making less money. Their motive has always been money at the cost of our children’s lives.”

When Gowder vowed to run a candidate against all legislators who vote against HB 148 like Chicago police officer Frederick Collins, a Republican who is running against Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-1^st), when contacted Rep. Monique D. Davis (D-27^th), who did not attend the meeting, said, “I will not be threatened.

“My vote will not be based upon a threat. There were 52 ‘no’ votes on that bill.” Davis wonders if this group will target all 52 lawmakers or “just the black ones.

“I have heard there are many Republicans and some Democrats who would love to get rid of senior Democrats in the General Assembly,” Davis said. “They want new people because new people will have to learn what’s going on. Those of us who are veterans understand how to develop legislation, how to get it passed and how to get appropriations” from the budget. I will not be threatened and my vote will not be based on threats.”

Expressing similar sentiments was Colvin who said, “This isn’t a debate that I’m afraid of….” He said he learned a lot from the forum and will continue to talk to his constituents on this issue.

But panelists Lori Meriweather, an African American who is a member of the Second Amendment Sisters, Rhonda Ezell, co-plaintiff with the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) in Ezell v. Chicago, the federal case that recently forced Chicago to permit firing ranges in the city, Gerald Vernon, the Chicago spokesman for The Chicago Firearms Safety Association and his president, Shawn Gowder, urged people to target anti-HB 148 legislators with political defeat.

In support of the bill was W. L. Lillard, who owns the International Detective and Protective Services, a statewide agency licensed since 1964, Star Planet TV and who taped the forum, said, “I want this bill to pass because it’s the right thing to do. It’s a part of the Constitution.

“Every time a citizen is arrested for a weapon the policeman is violating his Constitutional right.

“I’m for the Constitution. We all should all follow the law not just the citizens but also the officials of the state and the officials of the state are not following the law when they ordered their policemen to violate the law and arrest a person for carrying a weapon when the Constitution says you have a right to keep and bare arms,” said Lillard.

Agreeing was a truck driver, John Oleinski from Lindenhurst, Illinois. “We, as citizens, should have the right to pro-actively protect our selves and our families from violent criminals. We’re sick of the violent thugs out there who don’t give a damn about obeying the law. That’s why they’re called criminals,” said Oleinski.

Blair Garber, the NRA election coordinator for the Ninth Congressional District, said it’s important for this bill to pass because “in Springfield, they think there is no conceal carry in Illinois.

“There is conceal carry in Illinois. It’s only restricted to the class of criminals. It’s time for law abiding citizens actually were empowered to protect themselves outside their home as well as inside their homes because that’s where the majority of crimes happen,” said Garber.

Father Michael L. Pfleger, who attended a similar pro-conceal carry forum hosted by Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-8^th) asked, “If the NRA and the gun pushers are serious about responsible gun ownership, why do they fight us trying to close the loop holes and title guns just like cars”?

Answering his own question, Pfleger added, “The answer is because the number one consumer of guns is the criminal and stopping easy access means making less money. Their motive has always been money at the cost of our children’s lives.”

Merriweather, a 41-year-old mother of three who is a health home care worker, who was stalked by a strange man and assaulted in her home, said the police didn’t respond fast enough. “You never know who is watching you,” she said. “I am a firm believer in defending myself because if I’m not here for my children, who will be”?

Ezell, also a recruiter, said she is looking for new members for her pro-gun groups and urged them to apply for a Firearm Owner’s Identification program and to carry it “like you do your voter registration card. This is not a license to kill anyone. It’s just a license to carry and protect yourself and have a right to bear arms…. It’s nothing that anyone grants you. It’s a Constitutional right,” said Ezell.

Gowder, who is an Army veteran and who brings his medal-laden uniform these forums, told of how a teenager accosted him for money in a gas station first asking for change. Gowder, who was driving his mini-van and had stopped to get some cigarettes, said the teen stood in front of his vehicle.

“If he reaches for something, he’s gone,” said Gowder who threatened to run the teenager down he said had a gun. “I saw him fumbling the gun.” Gowder said he stepped on the gas and backed out of the station. “As I put my car in drive, he started shooting. When I finally stopped and looked at my mini-van, I had seven holes in it. Thank God they only had 9 millimeters because if they had a .45 or a .357 I would not be here today….”

Looking at Colvin, Gowder said, “I’m so proud of brother Marlow Colvin showing up today because it takes a special man to come here today.” He also recognized former Rep. Coy Pugh who is now a lobbyist for the Illinois State Rifle Association.

Kelley, who normally agrees with Father Pfleger, said, “I think this bill should pass so that so people can protect themselves and it would be in keeping with the Constitutions.

“I think it is very difficult when you have 49 states who have a similar bill to suggest that Illinois can be different.” Kelley said for those who think passing this bill will result in more crime, they are wrong. “There’s no evidence to support that,” he said. Kelley said the right to bear arms is a Constitutional right.

However, Josephine Wade, owner of Josephine’s Hardtimes Cooking Restaurant, who sat in the back of the room, later told this writer, “I am not for this bill because I think that is what is wrong now. People have too much access to guns.”

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.