Daley's gun control legislation proposes 'micro-stamping' pistols, harsher penalties

Mayor Daley today unveiled his annual package of gun control legislation and denied he's "swimming upstream" at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled its intention to overturn Chicago's handgun ban.

Most of the ideas are re-treads, but there are a few new wrinkles. They include a proposal to make it a mandatory Class 1 felony to "knowingly sell or transfer a gun to a known gang member."

Daley also wants to strengthen penalties for unlawful use of a weapon so those caught carrying loaded weapons are no longer, as he put it, "let off scot-free."

Yet another mayoral proposal would require semi-automatic pistols manufactured or delivered for sale in Illinois to be capable of "micro-stamping." The technology helps law enforcement link spent ammunition with the gun used to fire it.

Todd Vandermyde, the National Rifle Association's legislative liaison in Illinois, predicted that the mayor's package would go nowhere in the Illinois General Assembly.

"The pendulum has shifted -- politically and publicly. Many of the proposals the mayor has pitched year in and year out run afoul of what the Supreme Court is going to decide -- that there's an individual right to keep and own a firearm across the nation," he said.

Vandermyde scoffed at the mayor's proposal to raise the penalty against those who sell or transfer guns to "known gang members," arguing that there is "no nexus to criminal activity."

"I'm quite used to the mayor using the Second Amendment as toilet paper. But, now they want to use the First Amendment as a doormat and the due process guarantees of the 14th Amendment as a dishrag," he said.

At a news conference at police headquarters before the usual table-full of confiscated weapons, Daley flatly denied that the U.S. Supreme Court's widely-anticipated ruling makes this year's gun legislation dead-on-arrival in Springfield.

"I'm never swimming upstream. I think I'm swimming with the stream," he said.

Annette Nance-Holt's 16-year-old son, Blair, was gunned down in 2007 when a reputed gang member opened fire on a CTA bus crowded with students on their way home from Julian High School. As shots rang out, Blair sacrificed his own life to save a friend.

Today, Annette Nance-Holt once again channeled her anguish into an emotional plea for gun control.

"In a day when we're more concerned with obesity and second-hand smoke and animal rights, why are we not concerned about our children being murdered by handguns and assault weapons. Why are we not outraged?" Nance-Holt said.

"This is not a black issue. It's not a Hispanic issue. This is an American issue. These guns are out of control and our love [for] guns is out of control. Are they insane, or are we insane?"

By: Fran Spielman, Chicago Sun-Times

Starbucks' gun policy is an honorable one

My applause to Starbucks for not wanting to be used in the gun control debate (“Starbucks asks not to be center of gun debate,” March 4). Theirs may be the only honorable position in this particular chapter. Leave them alone and let them obey the local law.

To the gun haters: I would point out that statistically you are in much greater danger driving your car to Starbucks than in sharing it with a legally armed citizen. Stop your ranting long enough to actually check the numbers.

To the people insisting on open carry to make a PR point, give me a break! You are not making us any friends by this. Make your points in court or in the legislature.

Make friends on the street. We need friends — not publicity stunts. If you want to “show your colors,” wear an NRA cap in public.

Please carry discreetly.

By: Roy Denney, The Tennessean

Don't Let Obama's Anti-Gun Silence Breed Complacency

What should we make of a recent editorial arguing that the Obama White House has made no attempt to infringe upon the Second Amendment and that Obama openly declared his respect for the right to bear arms during his presidential campaign?

It's true that President Obama hasn't advanced the gun control agenda. He hasn't even sought a renewed ban on "assault" weapons. However, the idea that President Obama has more in common with Wayne LaPierre than with Sarah Brady is misleading. Remember the "bitter clingers" comment? Therefore, if eternal vigilance is freedom's price, then complacency must be its worst enemy. The Second Amendment is under assault even as the Supreme Court seems poised to recognize the individual right it protects.

Rep. Bobby Rush's Firearms Licensing and Record of Sale Act (H.R. 45) would require a license to possess a firearm. That license would also be required to transfer a firearm, and a tracking number would be assigned to each sale. Most ominous is H.R. 45's prohibition on storing firearms and ammunition in any manner that a child could access.

Rep. Rush's bill assaults the basic notion of a right. Free people need no government license to exercise a right. This bill would also create de facto gun registration and render firearms inadequate for self-defense. Unloaded guns are rather poor clubs.

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee produced the Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act (H.R. 257). Section Three in Rep. Lee's proposal would impose ten-year prison sentences upon firearm sellers if they have "reasonable cause to know" that their customers intend criminality. Section Four criminalizes the sale of a firearm without an approved security device. Section Five effectively forbids keeping a loaded firearm for self-defense whenever a child is present, much like H.R. 45. Section Six requires adult chaperones for minors at gun shows. Under Section Six (b)(8), the offending parent can be charged with child abandonment.

Since a defensive firearm must be kept loaded, and most homes contain children at least periodically, it's clear that Rep. Rush and Rep. Lee intend to abolish the use of firearms for personal defense. They also require dealers to be clairvoyant. To deny sales opens dealers to civil rights violations, while approving sales opens them to prosecution. It's a catch-22 for gun sellers.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg's Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act (S.1317) denies firearms to "dangerous" terrorists (is there another kind?). What Sen. Lautenberg has authored is a clever ruse. No one can argue that denying guns and bombs to terrorists violates the Second Amendment, right? Let's see.

Section 922A(1) of S. 1317 grants the Attorney General discretionary authority to deny access to firearms. The AG, under Section 922B(g)(1), can also withhold information used in the denial from the aggrieved party. Should gun owners feel secure if Eric Holder wields such authority?

What about Pres. Obama's stated respect for gun rights? Well, politicians will say just about anything to get elected. Obama is still on the record as supporting a ban on "assault" weapons. Furthermore, his administration is backing a U.N. treaty that would regulate the small arms trade worldwide. Don't scoff. The president can constitutionally enter such treaties under Article 2, Section 2. Said treaty would become law under Article 6, at least temporarily.

Inaction on gun control doesn't make President Obama a Second Amendment loyalist. Inaction doesn't mean that politicians and bureaucrats hostile to private firearms aren't at work. Gun-owners will benefit from a dose of extra vigilance now, even while the gun control waters appear still.

By: Anthony W. Hager, American Thinker