By David A. Lombardo, Opinion Contributor
It isn’t often that a Governor learns a lesson from the comic strip character Pogo, and JB Pritzker may be the first: “We have met the enemy and He is Us!”
It’s a pity Pritzker personally committed millions of dollars to pay for the Democratic National Convention to be held in Chicago in August of this year. It is unprecedented for a governor to assume economic responsibility for such a huge, ridiculously expensive convention estimated to cost nearly $100 million.
The reason he was willing to pay it is because the governor of the state where the convention is held gets prime time television. It’s not a well-kept secret that Pritzker wants to tell the country on primetime television that he’s running for president and when elected he will enact an assault weapon ban at the federal level just like he did in his home state of Illinois.
Oops, about that assault weapon ban, governor.
In what may be one of the most historic political blunders ever made by a squatting politician, Pritzker rammed the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) through the legislature in the dark of night before anyone could read it. PICA may well be the most anti-Second Amendment law ever written because it essentially bans almost all semi-automatic rifles and sets up the same for pistols and shotguns in the future.
When questioned by the media about the possible success of the new law, he was quick to point out that elections have consequences and PICA will be alive and well and law enforcement will make appropriate arrests. Those law enforcement officers that do not comply would be looking for other employment, he stressed.
Wait. What?
At least 74 of the 102 elected Illinois sheriffs have said they will not enforce the unconstitutional law which makes a very powerful statement to Pritzker — who ignored it. But what he hasn’t ignored is preparing to go collect firearms from non-compliers.
This may well be J.B.’s Waterloo.
What surprises me even more than his level of arrogance is his lack of political savvy. Illinois is a state where the notoriously anti-Second Amendment Democrats are in control of practically everything. The anti-Second Amendment bureaucrats control the state House of Representatives, Senate, Governorship and every statewide elected office.
And this has not escaped notice by the pro-Second Amendment citizens who have no voice at all in anything firearm related. To say that bothers some gun owners would be a gross mistake; it has virtually all gun owners livid.
Then along comes PICA and finally, the gun lobby has its strong, clear voice resonating from the capitol building all over the state: “Hell no! We won’t comply” and they aren’t.
Among the pro-Second Amendment contingent are millions of law-abiding citizens who are sick and tired of being bullied and talked down to by fanatical anti-Second Amendment liberals. They see this bill as where they will draw the line in the sand and say, “No more gun laws!”
Bu despite J.B.’s toothless warnings, the Second Amendment contingent is sticking to their guns and having their voices heard.
To date, 52,000-gun owners have registered one or more firearms on the PICA list. If that sounds like a lot of people, consider this. There are approximately 2.4 million Firearm Owner Identification card holders and only 52,000 have responded, a meager 2.17-percent.
So, when J.B. stands in front of his teleprompter at the convention and talks to the nation what exactly is he going to say?
“If elected, I will unite the people of this country?”
I don’t think so, when people see pictures of their local 75-year-old barber; their kid’s kindergarten teacher and the local Parish priest being hauled away in handcuffs on the news it’s going to redefine the word “unite” to mean taking community leaders away in the dark like some third world country.
“If elected I’ll implement a national assault weapon ban like I did in Illinois?”
I don’t think so, I think that’s going to be a dead issue by the time of the convention. But for the sake of argument, let’s say it isn’t a dead issue yet. How will it look for a Democratic governor with a veto-proof Democratic legislature in a state that is 48-percent Democrat and 33-percent Republican to be incapable of implementing a Democrat’s fantasy gun control law?
By now, I expect setting foot on that stage has lost its luster.
But we learn three interesting lessons from all this:
First, it is reported that there are now more AR-15s buried in Illinois woods than guys who ran afoul of the Chicago Outfit.
Second, finally we know what a Hoosier is. It’s an ex-Illinois resident residing in Indiana and willing to hold his friends AR’s as long as it takes to get SCOTUS to toss out Pritzker’s folly – PICA.
And third, from the Republicans to the Democrats – Karma is a bitch.
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.
