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Our Community, Our News
JULY 18, 2013
Vol. 57 No. 41
GETREADYFORCONCEALANDCARRY
New Illinois law prompts municipalities to consider gun control ordinances By Alex V. Hernandez Staff Reporter
The night before concealed carry became legal in Illinois, Park Ridge officials decided not to pursue any restrictions or bans on “assault weapons” in their city. Communities across the state have been rushing to pass their own weapons bans before the concealed and carry law was signed in Springfield July 9.The reason for this is that House Bill 183 stipulates that municipalities only have a 10-day window once the law is signed to enact ordinances if they haven’t already, as long as it doesn’t violate the state’s concealed carry law. After that period, they would not be able to pass an ordinance on the matter.
Nearby Skokie discussed an “assault weapons” ban the week before at a rowdy three-hour meeting. Officials used a basketball shot clock, set to buzz after three minutes, to keep the more than 30 impassioned audience members making public comments in check. At the end of the meeting the Skokie village board decided to pass their ban, which led to an angry outcry of “see you in court” by the gun owners present.
AR-15 in the cross hairs The guns that many municipalities in Cook County are attempting to ban are “assault weapons,” a loosely defined term Skokie officials say are more lethal than other weapons by their design because of the capability of a rapid rate of fire and ammunition magazines that hold a
large number of rounds. The gun that most readily fits this definition is the popular semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, favored by hunters and used by law enforcement. Among gun owners, the AR-15’s infinitely customizable open modular design has made it one of the most popular guns on the market. However its visual similarity with its fully automatic military cousin, the M16, is why many gun owners feel that officials are targeting it in their weapons bans. In contrast, the July 8 meeting in Park Ridge had much more civil discussion on the topic. When some passionate gun owners began to fear that the city might follow Skokie’s example, Ald. Marc Mazzuca told everyone present there wasn’t even an ordinance prepared and that the meeting was to discuss if the
city wanted to pursue a ban. “The state should have leadership on this, and the laws they put in place are what we should follow,” said Ald. Joseph Sweeney.“I don’t think we need to create any new laws for the city.” At the meeting residents, including Ozzy Dorado, 35, said he always felt Park Ridge was a safe and wonderful place to live. “I’m not familiar with any carnage in Park Ridge,” said Dorado. He felt criminalizing thousands of legal firearms owners in the city was trying to solve a problem the city doesn’t have.
‘Burden of regulation’ In a written statement given to the press, Park Ridge Ald. Jim Smith said an See CONCEAL, page 3