In the last few weeks, I aired a Perspective dealing with assault weapons, the State of Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn and the National Rifle Association. Of course, this Perspective was prior to the Portland, Oregon Mall shooting which left three dead, before the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut with 28 dead, and two police officers shot and killed by an assailant Topeka, Kansas. Maybe it is time to look at that Perspective again.



I make no bones about my distaste for guns. I grew up with them. My father was a homicide detective. You name the handgun and, at one time or another, he probably had one in the house. However, the most recent findings by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center now show that more guns mean more killings. As a recent editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch pointed out, “there was a time not so long ago when it was possible to recall mass shootings by counting the fingers on one hand. Not so anymore.” Illinois has a tough stance on gun control. There are states that are tougher but Illinois forbids all forms of concealed weapons and does not recognize gun licenses from other states. Springfield Armory is located in Illinois and the owners have threatened to move to Iowa if the state bans assault weapons. My hero today is Governor Pat Quinn. He has made the right move. Governor Quinn has turned an ammunition-by-mail bill backed by the National Rifle Association into a bill that bans assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Have you looked at Chicago? Gun deaths are up 10% and are equal to New York City which is three times the size of the city of Chicago. All violent crimes, except guns deaths are down in Chicago. Give me one reason why assault weapons and high capacity magazines should not be against the law. Tell me why I am wrong and I will put your comments on Fox 23. Governor Quinn is right and the National Rifle Association doesn’t have the answer.Assualt Weapons Revisited