Aldermen rally in Springfield for stricter gun laws

Gun violence has been dominating the news lately and the Defender talks about city alderman ralling for stricter gun laws...

Chicago aldermen traveled to Springfield recently to lobby for common sense gun legislation, stating that the students’ deaths are not just a city problem. The trip to Springfield came a few days before at least three-dozen people were shot, eight fatally, during the April 18 weekend.

“These kids are getting killed and folks aren’t going to prison,” Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) said, adding that too many guns are falling into the hands of the wrong people, and children most often pay the price–– with their lives. Burnett and other aldermen said the entire state is impacted by the deaths, but what is standing in the way of “common sense” gun laws are downstate legislators.

“It looks like we have the support from the Chicago delegation and some other urban parts of the state. But many of the downstate legislators don’t understand the importance of our ties to each other.

An investment in Chicago is an investment in the entire state,” Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said after the trip to Springfield. State Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-8th) concurred and said it was a matter of simple philosophy.

“We had more people in the House that believe that they should continue to maintain their Second Amendment right, regardless of the need to revisit the Second Amendment and do something to reduce the number of murders that’s happening,” said Ford. Ford, who represents portions of the West Side, is the co-sponsor of HB 758, HB 796 and HB 1696, all proposed laws for better firearm control. HB 758, a push for more stringent background checks on all weapons buyers, recently failed in the House.

I want to throw this quote from the article and then I want to present something else...

While police Supt. Jody Weis, along with local and state legislators, want stricter gun laws, some don’t think it will solve the problem. Marcus Greer, 17, is the latest CPS student felled by gun violence. His grandmother said more gun laws will not quell the problem.

“That’s not going to work because guys running from police, they throw the guns and a little 12-yearold will pick it up, and he’ll go kill another Marcus tomorrow,” said Lula Greer.

Read this Tribune column by Steve Chapman he doesn't think more gun laws are the solution and he at least backs this up with some data.

It has done so despite the alleged problem cited by Weis, which is the availability of guns, and particularly one type of gun. "There are just too many weapons here," he declared at a Sunday news conference. "Why in the world do we allow citizens to own assault rifles?"

Actually, in Chicago, "we" don't allow citizens to own assault rifles. Elsewhere, they are allowed for the same reason other firearms are permitted. The gun Weis villainized is a type of semiautomatic that has a fearsome military appearance but is functionally identical to many legal sporting arms.

And its bark is worse than its bite. As of March 31, there had been 87 homicides in the city. When I asked the Chicago Police Department how many of the murders are known to have involved assault rifles, the answer came back: One.

As it happens, we already have ample experience with laws against these guns. From 1994 to 2004, their manufacture and sale were banned under federal law.

Yet nationwide, the number of murders committed with rifles and shotguns began falling three years before the law was enacted.

It's true those gun homicides also fell while the law was in effect. Does that prove the value of the ban? Not exactly, since stabbing deaths fell even faster, as did murders involving crowbars, baseball bats and other blunt objects. Obviously other factors were behind the improvement.

I don't like to touch upon these criminal issues too much however crime is an important issue. It may certainly affect the middle class character of the ward. Obviously we want safe streets but let's not expect an easy solution with quick results.