Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley will not be seeking re-election for his seventh term.
Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and currently the Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He is the second longest serving mayor, after his father.
A member of IllinoisCarry has picked up on a policy change with the city’s Firearms Disposition form:
In the past, the Chicago Police Department have been kind enough to mail to a Chicago resident the Firearms Disposition form, and then the resident could simply mail it back after filling it out. That is no longer the case!
Is Daley’s supposed plan to make gun ownership difficult spread to those who want to be former owners? It might be…
Read full details at Illinois Carry
Chicago Police Maintain Overall Crime Drop in August; Violent Crimes Down in 23 of City’s 25 Police Districts
Assistant Superintendent James B. Jackson discussed preliminary crime statistics for the month of August in a press conference today, announcing that total crime dropped by 4.5 percent Citywide, supported by an 11 percent decrease in violent crimes and more than 2 percent decline in property offenses. Nearly every category of index offenses tapered in the City’s 20th consecutive month of overall crime drops.
Murder was the only violent crime to show an uptick in August, which followed a drop in July that ended a four-month consecutive increase. A total of 313 murder victims raised the total by five victims compared to last year, resulting in a 1.6 percent increase. Assistant Superintendent Jackson pledged the committed efforts of Chicago Police to continuing strategic policing and the building of cooperative relationships with community members to reverse the marginal increase.
“Any number of homicides is going to be dissatisfying until we see the number at zero,” said Assistant Superintendent Jackson. “No singular approach can drive down crime, and so while we are pleased with successful strategies which have helped crime drop overall across the City, Chicago Police must have the community as partners in this plan,” he added.
Every other violent index offense dropped through the end of August, including criminal sexual assaults by more than 10 percent, robberies by more than 14 percent, and aggravated assaults by nearly 13 percent. Aggravated batteries dropped more than 6 percent. Jackson praised efforts of the Bureau of Patrol and Bureau of Investigative Services, whose strategic missions especially targeted public violence in August.
This included a series of Organized Crime Division missions and a separate, joint law enforcement agency initiative with Chicago Police officers from units in the Bureaus of Patrol and Investigative Services. Combined results yielded more than 170 arrests and $1.7 million in narcotics. Thirty weapons also were seized, contributing to the 5,679 weapons Chicago Police recovered through the end of August – more than 189 more than were seized last year during that time.
Property index offenses dropped in almost every category, with the exception of motor vehicle theft, which was up by about 21 percent. Arson showed the greatest drop at 14.5 percent, followed by theft at more than 7 percent, and burglary at 2 percent.
According to preliminary statistics through the end of August 2010:
Violent Index Crime is down 11 percent
Homicide – up 1.6 percent
Criminal Sexual Assault – down 10.1 percent
Robbery – down 14.1 percent
Aggravated Assault – down 12.9 percent
Aggravated Battery – down 6.1 percent
Property Index Crime is down 2.6 percent
Burglary – down 2 percent
Theft – down 7.1 percent
Motor Vehicle Theft – up 21.2 percent
Arson – down 14.5 percent
Jim Hanson @ BlackFive.Net, Retired Special Operations Master Sergeant, talks about the McDonald v. Chicago ruling and the Second Ammendment Foundation’s suit against Chicago on the Alyona Show.
Although forecasting a quick victory for the SAF, calling Daley’s ordinance “doubling down on a losing hand”, he’s not sure if they’ll prevail on the gun range issue. (Allowing gun ranges within the City of Chicago).
As for what the motivation of the Second Ammendment Foundation in wanting American’s to be able to exercise their rights: “If you don’t have the option to defend yourself then you’ll get shot and you’ll die.”
President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Paul Helmke, wants you to believe that there is a giant oversight in the way sales of guns are handled at gun shows.
Sure, he puts up a well-crafted misdirection in his blog “Who Would Oppose Closing the Gun Show Loophole?” (reproduced at the Huffington Post). I chose to direct you to this version because the HuffPo’s uncensored comments were eye-opening for me.
I’m certainly against gun violence. I almost fell into Helmke’s trap. I mean, “Who Would Want to Be Misled”?
The first comment on Helmke’s smoke screen:
I am curious; what, specifically, is the “gun show loophole”. What specific extant federal legislation is inapplicable exclusively at “gun shows” but applicable in any other venue?
In short, nothing.
Mr. Helmke and other anti-gun orgs are engaging in gross misrepresentation of this fact. They target gun-shows because they know it will appeal emotionally to their target audience. If gun ban orgs like the Bradys engaged in truthful, rational debate, they would be trying to regulate a “private seller” loophole, and stop misrepresenting this issue as one exclusive to gun shows.
But then they would have to explain why, if closing this “loophole” is so important, they OPPOSE non-FFL (Federal Firearms License) access to NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System).
If you wanted to close a loophole why only target gun shows?
Today Chicago Police Superintendent Jody P. Weis testified at the Forum on Closing the Gun Show Loophole, hosted by US Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL), to express the City of Chicago’s strong support closing the gun show loophole on a national level.
“It is imperative that we close the gun show loophole by enacting a federal ban on the ability of criminals to purchase guns at gun shows,” said Superintendent Weis in testimony delivered at the Dirksen Federal Building. “As a nation, we already require criminal background checks for people who purchase firearms from a federally licensed gun dealer. Simply stated, there is no good reason that someone who wants to purchase firearms at a gun show should not undergo the same important criminal background check as someone who makes the same purchase from a dealer.” This loophole currently allows unlicensed individuals to sell firearms at gun shows without conducting criminal background checks on buyers or without any record-keeping.
In Illinois, under Mayor Richard M. Daley’s leadership, the General Assembly has already passed legislation to close the state gun show loophole. However, because the vast majority of other states have not closed their loopholes, criminals can simply go outside of Illinois and buy guns at gun shows in neighboring states without a background check, and then bring them into Illinois.
“If we are serious about keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, we must work together to close this loophole,” said Weis.
To illustrate the importance of toughening the laws that govern access to firearms, Superintendent Weis cited several examples of weapons seized by Chicago Police that were traced back to gun shows, including:
In Chicago, most violent crime involves firearms and the firearm of choice among criminals is a handgun. In the overwhelming majority of these cases, these crimes are committed by people who obtained these firearms illegally, and due to their criminal backgrounds, they shouldn’t have been able to have a gun in the first place. Therefore, the Superintendent pledged that the City of Chicago would continue to do everything possible to keep our streets safe for our residents, for our visitors, and for our Police Officers. Those
efforts include:
And a functional gun too. Be sure to keep your firearms clean so they perform flawlessly. Whatever the purpose is. Recreation or home defense, you don’t want a dirty gun.
We all know that firearms require maintenance and cleaning, but how often should you clean your firearms? Some insist that firearms should be cleaned every time they are fired as well as every few months whether they’ve been used or not. Others insist that it is fine to leave your rifle or pistol uncleaned even after multiple trips to the range. Who’s right? The answer is that it depends on the type of firearm, what it is primarily used for, and what ammunition and elements it has been exposed to.
There are some times when you should clean your gun every time immediately after use. If you are shooting corrosive ammunition, or if the firearm is exposed to water, moisture, or other damaging elements you should always clean your gun as soon as possible. Corrosive ammunition, water, salts, dust and dirt can all lead to rust, corrosion, excess wear and tear and eventually the early failure of the rifle or pistol.
For example, last week I went out hunting with my trusty Remington 700 in 30-06. It’s not a fancy rifle with a synthetic stock and factory blued barrel topped with a Nikon ProStaff 4-12×40mm scope. The weather was cold and damp, and I didn’t see any of the wild hogs I was hunting for, but it was rainy and drizzling lightly off and on so, even though I didn’t fire a shot, I still cleaned my rifle when I got home. Why? Moisture in the barrel could lead to pitting and premature barrel wear. I also made sure to run a lightly oiled cloth between the barrel and the stock bed to clear out any trapped moisture or dirt and oil the barrel in that ares as well.
“But,” you say “I’ve got a stainless steel barrel and receiver. I don’t need to worry about moisture.” To a certain extent, that is true. Stainless steel components do help slow down corrosion and the effects of the elements that cause it, but such parts are more susceptible to excess wear from dirt, dust, and fouling. Stainless steel is softer than other steel used in firearms and as such can experience faster wear.
If you’ve got a gun that is only used for plinking, target clays, or punching holes in paper, it’s probably OK to let a few months and 3-4 trips to the range lapse before doing an in depth cleaning. You should still be aware that semi-automatics and rimfire firearms may begin to show performance and reliability issues with excessive fouling. My Walther G22, my favorite semiautomatic plinker, tends to run fine for about 500 rounds before it begins to have problems cycling dirty .22 rimfire ammunition. Because of this, I like to keep a bore snake, some CLP and a brush in my range bag to give the action a quick once-over should it start to hiccup. Even so, it sometimes makes it through a couple of bricks of Federal .22 LR before it sees a good scrubbing.
On the other hand, if you’re shooting a match gun or a firearm that is relied upon for personal defense, you should always keep it clean, oiled, and ready to go. As mentioned above, fouling, dirt and dust can cause reliability issues in semiautomatic firearms. Any primary defensive firearm should, in this writer’s opinion, be kept clean and well oiled at all times. Revolvers are not immune to fouling either: carbon build up on the cylinder can make a double action trigger nearly impossible to pull as the cylinder gap becomes clogged. For match guns, most semiautomatics run more accurate and more reliably when clean. Bolt action rifles on the other hand often require a fouling shot for the best consistency out of a cold bore. For this reason, it is sometimes easier to clean these rifles at the range where you can then fire a fouling shot (from non-corrosive ammunition) so that the bore is ready to go. Some ranges won’t allow you to clean a gun at the range, and that’s fine, you can clean it at home and store it without a fouling shot, just remember that your bore will need a fouling shot to prep the bore prior to competition.
Depending on how often they are used, all firearms should periodically undergo a professional detailed cleaning where the firearm is torn down and thoroughly cleaned, oiled and reassembled. How often this is necessary depends on the number of rounds fired through the gun and the role it typically is used for, but I like to detail strip and clean all of my firearms at least once a year regardless of whether or not they ever made it out of the gun safe at all. On firearms that are just being stored in a safe ambient moisture in the air, humidity, can cause some small rust spots to show up. Dessicants such as Hyskore drying silica gel will help reduce the humidity in your safe and cut down on rust caused by this moisture in the air. An annual cleaning not only makes sure that all of your guns are clean and stored properly, but also gives you the chance to inspect each firearm for problems that you may not normally notice. While you’ve got the gun broken down, look for cracks, rust and corrosion, erosion, or other signs that a part may need replacing. More than once while detail stripping my firearms I’ve found pins, springs, and other small parts that were wearing and could soon fail. By replacing them early an unexpected failure was prevented.
Always make sure to wear the proper safety gear when cleaning your firearms, and always clean in a well lit and well ventilated area. Some chemicals and solvents are dangerous and have fumes that can be unsafe to breathe. Proper eye-protection, gloves and a respirator are always recommended when working with gun cleaning chemicals.
Chicago Gun Owners, how often do you clean your gun and are there any special methods you use?
source: Cheaper than dirt
What does it really cost to register a handgun (or other firearm) in the city of Chicago? The costs start climbing quickly when you add in the fact that you must travel outside of the city 30+ miles to the nearest shooting range and gun class.
Some members at Illinois Carry are discussing what the “unconstitutional gun tax” costs are adding up to, with time, mileage, fuel, paperwork and fees.
Anywhere from $400 to $900? Doesn’t seem exactly fair, does it?
A new lawsuit was filed today in response to Chicago’s June 28th Responsible Gun Ownership Ordinance claiming that the ban on shooting ranges in Chicago is unconstitutional. It is a necessary step in obtaining a Chicago Firearms Permit (CFP) to complete one hour of range time in addition to the four hours of classroom instruction, but as the law stands today, it is not possible to obtain this requisite training within Chicago.
The suit was filed by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), shooting range supplier Action Target Inc., Joseph Brown, Rhonda Ezell and William Hespen. Mr. Brown is a WWII veteran, Ms. Ezell a disabled burglary victim, and Mr. Hespen and retired Chicago Police detective.
“While the city has adopted new regulations that make it legal to own handguns, they have crafted this new ordinance to make it virtually impossible for prospective gun owners to meet all legal requirements unless they travel outside the city for mandatory training. The new ordinance prohibits public gun ranges inside the city yet the city demands that handgun owners get at least one hour of range training time.” -Second Amendment Foundation Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb.
There are existing lawsuits related to the ban on retailing firearms in Chicago.
The SAF press release announcing the suit:
For Immediate Release: 8/16/2010
CHICAGO, IL – The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) today filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Chicago’s new gun ordinance, asserting that “by banning gun ranges open to the public… under color of law,” the city is depriving citizens of their right to keep and bear arms in violation of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Joining SAF in this lawsuit are the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), Action Target, Inc., and three individual plaintiffs including a retired Chicago police detective. They are represented by attorneys Alan Gura of Virginia and David Sigale of Chicago, who teamed up with SAF and ISRA on the landmark case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, which incorporated the Second Amendment to the states, effectively striking down Chicago’s 28-year-old handgun ban.
“While the city has adopted new regulations that make it legal to own handguns,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “they have crafted this new ordinance to make it virtually impossible for prospective gun owners to meet all legal requirements unless they travel outside the city for mandatory training. The new ordinance prohibits public gun ranges inside the city yet the city demands that handgun owners get at least one hour of range training time.
“This is a ‘Catch-22’ scenario,” he continued, “that seems deliberately designed to discourage Chicago residents from exercising their firearm civil rights barely two months after those rights were restored by the Supreme Court.”
Individual plaintiffs are Rhonda Ezell, a victim of three attempted burglaries who has disabilities making it difficult for her to travel outside the city; Joseph Brown, a WWII U.S. Army veteran who was among the liberators of the infamous Dachau concentration camp, and William Hespen, a retired police detective, all of whom must qualify for Chicago Firearms Permits.
Action Target, a Utah-based company, builds shooting ranges and manufactures gun range equipment and supplies. It has a long history of providing gun safety equipment and training, and has previously built law enforcement shooting ranges in Chicago. However, Action Target is prohibited from building a public target range within the city’s limits under the restrictions of the new gun ordinance.
Randy Graham, vice president of Action Target, said, “We believe that citizens have a constitutional right to use and train with firearms in a safe and controlled environment. As a leader in the firearms training industry, Action Target is committed to standing up for these rights.”
“By banning public gun ranges,” Gottlieb said, “and by banning the loan and rental of firearms at such ranges, Chicago is acting under color of law to deprive citizens of their right to keep and bear arms, and to conveniently receive the education required under the ordinance that is necessary to obtain a Chicago Firearms Permit. The city is violating both the Second and First amendments, and we are asking the court to put an end to this nonsense.”
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.
Here’s a slightly dated (but still very significant) well-researched and factual essay on the merits of concealed carry for reducing shooting deaths by F. Paul Valone of Guns, Politics, and Freedom.
Valone cites researchers John Lott of Yale and William Landes of the University of Chicago paper studying multiple victim public shootings. Their data of records from 1976-1995 found that in states where concealed carry was adopted shootings declined by 84%, deaths reduced by 90% and injuries from shootings down 82.5%.
What is it about concealed carry that has this effect? The researchers credit the threat of armed victims as the deterrent.
“[T]he only policy factor to have a consistently significant influence on multiple victim public shootings is the passage of concealed handgun laws.”
Source: ‘Gun-free’ zones fail; concealed carry works By F. Paul Valone.
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