By John Boch
America’s least popular governor, Pat “Clueless” Quinn, was unceremoniously slapped down by the Illinois House of Representatives yesterday. “By a 78-28 vote, the legislative chamber voted to override Quinn’s rewrite of original legislation that would have made it legal for gun owners to buy ammunition online from Illinois suppliers. It’s already legal to do so from out-of-state suppliers.” His “amendatory veto” also would have created an assault weapons ban in the state, outlawing America’s favorite rifle, the AR-15 and hundreds of similar guns used by residents for personal defense, hunting and recreational shooting . . .
By overriding the veto, the House restored and passed into law the bill’s original language which allowed Illinois Firearm Identification cardholders to buy ammo via mail order from within The Land of Lincoln.
“It’s a pro-business bill. It simply said that residents in the state of Illinois could buy ammunition over the Internet from Illinois companies. Currently, they can buy ammunition over the Internet from all 49 other states but cannot buy it from an Illinois company,” said state Rep. Jerry Costello II (D-Smithton), the bill’s chief House sponsor.
But the Governor used a little creative writing to change the bill into his own little assault weapons ban.
So the country’s most popular rifle is still safe in Illinois. For now. While most shooters probably don’t realize it, Illinois is the nation’s scary black rifle capital. A dozen or more companies currently manufacture the guns in the Prairie State. It’s a rare economic bright spot in one of the country’s most economically dysfunctional states.
So while the Governor would like nothing better than to drive them off, his anti-gun move has been rejected. And Illinois gun owners can enjoy a rare victory. Who’d a thunk it?
John Boch is president of Guns Save Life