“I’m here doing something unusual in these political times — a Republican senator here backing a Democratic mayor’s (police superintendent) to solve the toughest crime problems bedeviling our state.” – Illinois Senator Mark Kirk, No hearing for now on Emanuel gun plan [at chicagotribune.com]
Apparently the fix to the “mandatory minimum” they are looking at is making it not “mandatory” for first-time offenders.
Actually, no.
They wrote this bill in such a way that any offense is a 3 year sentence. But the laws in Illinois are so convoluted you may not even KNOW you broke the law. Want some examples / hypotheticals that Mr. Kirk and the Chicago Super are poo pooing in their little event?
here, You have a permit to carry in Indiana and Wisconsin. Illinois law allows you to carry in your car through illinois.
You stop for gas and get out of your car, walk around to the pump and fill it up. You are now a felon with a 3 year minimum.
Or you drive through some “safe zone” or other Chicago made up zone that contains certain streets or what. Even though you have a CCW. Bang
Or I have a pistol in my glove box. I put it there this morning for my trip. My wife takes my truck to gas it up not knowing. Bang. Three year minimum with a felony conviction.
Now I want you to say “prosecutors can decline to prosecute!” Sure. that is why Chicago alone just recently had to release more than 100 people they had locked up for these types of charges, (no others) that also had Illinois FOID cards, but were charged with the Illinois AgUUW. Or the guy that had a legal FOID and and a CCW from another state and had a gun in his glove box… spent 14 months in jail WAITING on a trial for it.
SAs in illinois are big prosecuting law abiding gun owners. Much like DC where a simple shell casing can get you pinched. We’re not quite there, but close.
I am fully aware of all of that. I am saying it looks like perhaps their ‘fix’ to that is to make it not so mandatory if it is a first offense.
As you pointed out they can’t just leave it up to ‘prosecutor discretion’ so they will either have to put in specific exceptions or leave the judge discretion if it is a first-time offense.
Somehow I doubt they will make it “… and if in a gang or in the commission of a actual crime (not a technical violation)”.
That guy has to go. I mean he is as much of a republican as can get elected to statewide office in Illinois, but he is also a gun grabber.
He’s become part of what John Kass, the Chicago Tribune columnist, refers to as the Combine. Party isn’t as important as getting and keeping power. If he has to kiss the mayor’s ass, it’s a small price to pay.
Yet another Republican eunuch in Illinois.
Combine? The universal union? Does he get a nice CP mask?
Ha!
Does Chicago Police Chief McCarthy ever smile? I swear he has a scowl in every photo that I have ever seen. He comes across as a really angry middle-aged man … not the type of person that I would want to be the chief of police in my city.
Wow, I just looked for images of McCarthy on google and there were something like three photos total (among the dozens/hundreds) where he was smiling — and his smile looked unnatural in at least one of them.
It’s because he can’t shoot out streetlights any more. He’s too high visibility.
It’s because he’s either hammered or hung over. There are of course a few moments in between, however rare…
I cannot believe I donated to Kirk’s campaign back during the 2010 election. At the time, he seemed better than Alexi Giannoulias, who was backed by Obama.
But seriously, sorry if this is insensitive, but did the stroke somehow make him more liberal? Or was he always this way? My theory is that the stroke made him realize how precious life is and he’s decided to make violence/gun control his signature issue.
I voted the same way in that election. Kirk was the lesser of two evils. He’s a RINO, and always has been. It’s just that as he gets closer to having to run for re-election, he’ll move as far left as he thinks he needs to. Only problem is that it’s a one-way trip.
Kirk is bad, but Alexi was even worse.
McCarthy, the drunken streetlight shooter says: “People aren’t realizing that the awesome burden of carrying a firearm doesn’t leave room for the hypothetical”.
Talk about projection.
That is quite a quote. So he is basically saying that each and every american citizen bares an awesome burden to carry a firearm to ensure that the hypothetical government tyranny doesn’t happen in actuality. Because we don’t have room for the hypothetical. whodathunkit!
I’d love to see him apply his “Firearms are such a serious issue no one deserves a second chance” attitude to his own police force.
So by tackling the states crime problem he plans to disband the current legislature, right?
So.. is he really republican then??? I think not. Democrat in a republican skin. Hey, whatever it takes to disarm right?
Since when it the same old tried and failed solution an unusual approach?
An unusual approach would be looking at cities with LOWER homicide rates, and following their lead.
So they’re working together “…to solve the toughest crime problems bedeviling our state….”? Sounds like they’re planning on organizing a mass resignation of the political establishment, they seem to be one massive crime against nature….