Legislators prepare for potential concealed carry vote (Illinois)

[DonP]

Illinois may finally join the rest of the country sooner, rather than later.

Worth noting that all legislators involved in these discussions are all from Chicago Democrats and previously were reliable votes for anything Daley wanted. Maybe not so much anymore, based on what they are hearing from their voters. They only missed a shall issue law that would over ride Quinn's veto and pre-empt local laws by only 6 votes.

Chatham is not very far from Morgan Park, where Otis McDonald lives, and suffers from many of the same gang related issues they have in MP, Pilsen and Englewood.


From the Chicago Defender, September 21, 2011

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Next month, the Illinois House could revisit House Bill 148, seeking to bring the state in line with all 49 others with a law giving citizens some form of concealed possession of a handgun.
The idea of being able to legally carry a handgun is OK with William Bradley – on the one hand.

The 68-year-old retiree wants to be able to walk out of the Chatham home where he and his wife reside, without fear for his personal safety. Right now, he said he doesn’t have that comfort.
“When I walk out of my front door right now, I poke my head out my door looking for somebody standing around, and that’s not the way you should live,” he told the Defender following a community forum Aug. 31 at WVON-AM headquarters. The forum was hosted by groups who were outspoken in their support for concealed carry legislation as a Constitutional right.
Bradley, like most at the meeting, wants to be able to protect himself against criminals. “If I had a way of protecting myself ... these criminal types would be less inclined to be stalking around and just walking up on you,” he said. But on the other hand, he doesn’t want to see more armed - legally or illegally - citizens. State Rep. Marlow Colvin, D-33rd Dist., heard from Bradley and others who expressed fear of being out-gunned by criminals and feel that they aren’t protected by police they called over-worked on a forced stretched thin.

Colvin voted against HB 148 earlier this year, but in case it comes up again during the House veto session next month, he said he is dropping in on meetings like the one at WVON, talking to his constituents and doing his own research. It could change his vote. At the end of October, state Rep. Brandon Phelps could bring the measure for a vote again, and is reportedly working to garner veto-proof majority support.
Gov. Pat Quinn previously put lawmakers on notice that he would veto concealed carry legislation.

The bill, also known as the Family and Personal Protection Act, would allow 21 and older Illinoisans who have a valid Firearm Owners Identification Card to pay a $100 fee to obtain a license issued by the state police that allows them to carry a handgun on them or in their car that is completely or “mostly” concealed from view. Felons, people with some misdemeanor drug convictions, those with some driving under the influence convictions, people declared to have mental illness and others would not qualify for a license, according to the current version of the bill.

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Full article here: http://www.chicagodefender.com/article-11779-legislators-prepare-for-potential-concealed-carry-vote.html