I often read opinion pieces advocating for these unconstitutional laws, yet seldom see any opinions to the contrary. I’d like to offer an opinion to the contrary for the proposed Protect Illinois Communities Act.
We have all seen the opinion pieces advocating for this, and all for the same reasons. “We need to protect the children,” always the same lines. Those seeking to essentially disarm the masses to feel safer, are all the while doing quite the opposite. We have seen multiple times where firearms were used to protect people, yet they seldom gain any media attention. We also tend to overlook that criminals by definition do not follow the laws. So a new law will only disarm law-abiding citizens.
We hear hot catch-phrases like “assault weapon,” “high-capacity magazine,” “military grade” and few people seem to understand what any of that means. No politician can tell you what an “assault weapon” is, as it is a made-up term. If they refer to it by how something looks, I can put the same parts on a nail gun that is used to build houses. Does that make that a weapon of war? Because it looks similar? And how about many other items that are weapons of war? Knives? Jeeps? Boats? Pens? Computers? Airplanes? The military uses all of those. And all have more blood on them than civilian AR-15s.
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A “high-capacity” magazine is another made-up term. A 30-round magazine is standard capacity for most rifles. Pistols can vary from seven to 17, for standard capacity. None of those are “high-capacity.”
Let’s move on to the term “military grade,” which simply means it meets the minimum standard for the cheapest price. Military grade is no standard by which to judge quality or capability.
We see astounding numbers yearly about deaths from firearms. But information from places such as Pew Research and the FBI shows that of the 40,000 deaths yearly, over half are from self-inflicted gunshots. Suicide is a mental health issue. If those same people happened to use their car and drive in front of a semi, would we seek to ban cars? Or semi-trucks? We would seek to help those in need in times of great turmoil. So why do we blame guns for suicide?
Sure, more can be done to protect lives when it comes to gun violence, but the answer is not to remove the guns. Enforce the thousands of laws currently on the books. Stop letting violent criminals off so easily. Impose harsher punishments. Make criminals afraid of prison instead of seeing it as a stepping stone or a minor obstacle. Help get our youth off the street and out of the gang life. Help the poor get ahead so that crime does not look so appealing. Help those in mental distress. Fix the family court system so that men aren’t destroyed to the point of thinking suicide is better than to be seen as failures to their children, while a vengeful ex bleeds him dry.
Look around at what society has become and try to fix the problems. Don’t blame an inanimate object. Criminals will still be criminals, people will still harm one another. Suicides will still happen. Let’s address the real problems, and stop looking for scapegoats.
Jason Hartel, Naperville
Kevin McCarthy win is a last hurrah
I couldn’t help but notice the irony in the voting for Speaker of the House going a full 15 rounds. It was reminiscent of “The Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975. Ali and Frazier had gone a brutal 14 rounds in the stifling heat of the Philippines before Frazier’s trainer mercifully signaled things to an end prior to the final round.
It’s too bad there was nobody to call it for Kevin McCarthy before his final round. The Thrilla in Manila was the last hurrah for both fighters, and despite Ali’s win, he was a shadow of his former self. Despite McCarthy’s win, an already weak man has been bloodied so badly that unlike Ali, he will never live to fight another day.
Tom Scorby, St. Charles
