By David A. Lombardo, Opinion Contributor
A college professor asked me the other day how the anti-gun proponents could expect Illinoisans to simply surrender their firearms. My response was simply they live in a world where they believe they are smarter than everyone else and they can subjugate the simple-minded John Q. Public. They believe they have not simply the right but the moral obligation to implement their vision of a Democrat controlled dystopian world.
They are wrong and Illinois is the classic case that proves the point.
Here in Illinois, we have a Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID). To purchase or possess any firearm or ammunition you must have a state issued FOID card. Our uber-liberal, anti-second amendment governor had our veto-proof anti-gun legislature pass a bill that essentially bans most semi-auto firearms and particularly anything that even resembles an AR-15 and also most semi-auto pistols such as my every day carry 9mm Glock 17.
Current owners have until January 1st to register each firearm if they want them grandfathered in so they can keep them. After January 1st, no new ones; no selling them to others. First possession of such a firearm is a misdemeanor; everyone after that first is a felony punishable by imprisonment.
There are 2.4 million FOID card holders and it’s a fair bet that most own at least one of the banned firearms. Registration opened on October 1st and as of November 21st, only 3,439 of 2.4 million had registered a firearm. Today is December 6th, there are only 26 days left to comply and the total number of the 2.4 million who have registered is less than 1 percent.
This country has a long, rich tradition of civil disobedience. Few remember what started the Revolutionary War thinking it was the Boston Tea Party and taxation without representation. It was not, it was the British, who were beginning to fear the growing resentment of the colonists, that decided to march to Lexington and Concord where the colonists had powder storage bunkers. They weren’t after the guns; they were after the powder that make the guns work. Confiscate that and you don’t have to worry about who owns a gun and going door-to-door collecting them. The colonists taught the British about the colonists’ backbone and the war began.
Today, of Illinois’ 102 counties, each with an elected sheriff as the highest law enforcement officer, 74 sheriffs have publicly said they will not enforce the new law and millions of Illinois law-abiding gun owners stand behind them. It appears the words of King Leonides in 480BC are echoing from the Battle of Thermopylae – Molon Labe!
David Lombardo is an Army Vietnam veteran with over fifty years of firearm experience including 20 years as a part time county deputy; firearm instructor to over 8,000 students; extensive experience as a chief range safety officer; former president of one of the country’s largest shooting clubs; and a print, television and radio journalist for over 20 years. Currently, he is an expert witness in firearm related civil and criminal litigation, serves on the Board of Directors of the Illinois State Rifle Association and writes on the subject of the safe use of firearms and deadly force.
