As director of the Illinois State Police, my main concern is tomaintain the safest possible living conditions for the people ofIllinois. I feel strongly that permitting citizens to carryconcealed firearms would not contribute to a safer society.
In recent efforts in the General Assembly to pass "permit tocarry" measures, many hours of lip service have been paid to suchtopics as personal rights, the (Illinois and U.S.) Constitutions,preemption laws and other peripheral issues. To me, it all boilsdown to public safety, and the equation is simple: More guns meansmore deaths.
Throughout my law enforcement career, I have been required toundergo hundreds of hours of training in the use of firearms. Inaddition, police face on a daily basis the types of situations thatmight necessitate the use of deadly force. Through their trainingand experience, police officers are uniquely prepared in skill andjudgment to know how - and, just as importantly, when - to shoot.Their entire career focuses on officer safety and making certain thatinnocent people don't get hurt.
For their unique responsibility and qualifications, they arepermitted to carry a firearm. Compare this with the public moved tocarry a gun, not out of responsibility, but out of fear; citizens whomay have learned to load, aim and fire a weapon, but were nevertrained to make instantaneous life-or-death decisions. I shudder tothink of the consequences to them and other innocent bystanders.
In a study of Chicago street robbery, researchers at theUniversity of Chicago found that while a victim's chances of notbeing robbed increase with all forms of resistance, so do the chancesof being killed - by 14 times. I would add that carrying a gun is agamble - a gamble that the fearful, untrained, inexperienced citizenis likely to lose, perhaps with fatal consequences. Terrance W. Gainer, director, Illinois State Police Illinois: A State of Thugs
I am aghast that the General Assembly is considering a law thatwill allow people to carry concealed weapons.
As guns proliferate among gang members and other thugs, thestate says, "Great idea, let's give guns to everybody." Thisuninhibited, slavish imitation of the lowest element in our societyis ridiculous. Is anybody out there thinking of consequences?
I'm becoming increasingly embarrassed to live in Illinois. Janet Cheatham Bell, Hyde Park Attack of the Armed Dentists
In regard to the pending legislation that would allow citizensto carry concealed weapons, I think it is an excellent idea. I speakwith many years of experience as a state officer, city officer andlawyer.
However, the permits should be limited to those who have a Stateof Illinois license to carry on a profession (of any kind). Thus, itwould include doctors, dentists, architects, lawyers, registerednurses and many other occupations. Such people are generallywell-educated, they are older, they are used to making importantdecisions, they generally own their own homes, and they would notwant to endanger their professional licenses without good reason.
If the law were written in that manner, it think it would workout very well; and (for once) the crime rate actually would drop. Lowell Myers, Rogers Park Mean Streets of Hinsdale
Referring to Sen. Kirk Dillard's (R-Hinsdale) idioticsuggestion:
C'mon, now. Would you really feel safer walking down the streetif you thought everybody may be carrying a concealed weapon forprotection? Sam Schneider, Dunning Hide the Women and Kids
The Dillard "Citizens Safety and Self-Defense" bill now beforethe General Assembly to permit carrying of concealed weapons could bemore realistically called the "Dillard Anarchy Bill," as its passagecould ultimately lead to total breakdown in law and order and givegun owners real power to take away one's civil liberties and freedomof action by threats of instant death or injury.
In this situation justice would frequently be replaced by therule of "might makes right." Individuals and families even in theirhomes could be overwhelmed by armed gangs. People unsuspecting ofimmediate attack would be no match for attackers surprising them.Lives of women and children would be at greater risk - not less -with passage of this bill. Robert Jones, Elgin
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