Illinois: "Rewritten bill eases worries of gun makers"

[cuchulainn]

Divide and conquer.
Divide and conquer.
Divide and conquer.

from the Quad City Times

http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1009880&t=Business&c=31,1009880

Last Updated: 10:21 pm, Tuesday, March 25th, 2003

Rewritten bill eases worries of gun makers
By Craig Cooper

Gun manufacturers in Henry County who feared that they were in the sights of anti-gun politicians from Chicago can rest easier.

Illinois Senator Antonio Munoz (D-Chicago) had sponsored a bill that would have prohibited the manufacture, sale and possession of a long list of guns. Gun advocates said Senate Bill 1195 was written so generally that it could have resulted in making many shotguns commonly used for hunting illegal.

Owners of the companies that manufacture guns in Henry County said they would have been forced to move to Iowa or shut down if the legislation had passed as it was written.

Munoz said Tuesday that he has held the bill off the floor of the senate until it can be rewritten.

“There have been some very valid points made by gun owners and by my colleague Denny Jacobs, D-East Moline,’’ Munoz said. “There was never any intention to cost anyone jobs and that part has been rewritten.

“We also don’t want to be going after hunters. We have looked at eight parts of the bill the way it was written and are making changes. What we really were going after were the semi-automatic weapons that can be concealed and used in a crime.â€

The bill had brought out the political force of gun advocates, including the National Rifle Association.

The headquarters of Springfield Armory, Rock River Arms and ArmaLite all are located in Henry County. They provide the county and the city of Geneseo with approximately 200 full-time jobs and tax revenue.

Springfield Armory, Rock River Arms and ArmaLite all make either full weapons or component parts that would that would have been prohibited by Senate Bill 1195 as it was originally written.

The AR15, one of the guns listed in the original bill, which did get out of committee, is used in law enforcement, by the military and by the general public for small game hunting and competitive target shooting. The guns are often referred to as “varmint rifles’’ and are used to shoot prairie dogs and coyotes.

Moline lawyer Bill Dailey, who represents Springfield Armory, said the Geneseo company could have been forced to move 150 jobs to Iowa or another state if Illinois lawmakers targeted the manufacture of guns and shooting sports.

“It would be difficult for Springfield Armory to stay in business, at least in Illinois, if this passes the way it is written,’’ said Dailey.

“Nobody has thought that the Legislature would possibly go through with this, but now there is blood in the water. Mayor (Richard M.) Daley in Chicago cannot solve his own city’s crime problem, so he’s trying to blame it on everyone else.’’

The Chicago mayor has been the focus of the blame by the gun advocates.

Les Baer, owner of Les Baer Custom, Inc., said he would be forced to move or close his Hillsdale, Ill., business. He said he has 16 full-time employees and sales of more than $2 million annually in custom-made rifles and pistols.

“It’s plain and simple. We wouldn’t have a choice with this law,’’ Baer said. “Some of the weapons that they are looking at no one buys for self defense and you aren’t going to stop their use in a crime by making them illegal.’’

Baer said primary markets for the AR15 are governments and law enforcement agencies, both domestic and international. He declined to say what countries outside the United States buy the guns for military use.

Jacobs predicted Tuesday that Senate Bill 1195 would be “dead in the water’’ as it was written.

“Our feeling is that if Mayor Daley wants another gun law for Chicago that’s fine, but leave the rest of us alone,’’ Jacobs said.

Bill Dailey said the impact of the passage of Senate Bill 1195 would not just be on manufacturers. If passed as proposed, his interpretation was that the bill would ban the manufacture and possession of any gun having a bore diameter greater than .50 caliber.

“That would include most shotguns … 12 gauge, 16, 20, and 28 … that hunters use for ducks, geese, pheasants,’’ Dailey said. “The impact on the state through the sale of hunting licenses and the taxes on them would be huge.

“No one would buy a hunting license if they couldn’t use a shotgun.’’

Hunters help create $89 million annually in tax revenue for the state.

Jacobs said his understanding is there was no intent to limit the possession and use of shotguns by hunters.

“That is going to have to be clarified,’’ Jacobs said.

Butch Dominacki, owner of B&B Shooting Supplies in Bettendorf, said he had already heard from regular Illinois customers who said they would no longer purchase Illinois licenses if the bill passed as written.

“The AR15 is not a gun you can conceal to use in a crime. It is bigger and heavy,’’ Dailey said. “It is the gun used in the national matches at Camp Perry and competitions around the country.’’

Dailey said he researched the use of the AR15 in murders in Chicago. In 1995, there was one report of an AR15 being used to commit murder. He could find no evidence an AR15 was used in Chicago murders from 1996-2000.

“All of this is the mindless wish list of the anti-gun people,’’ Dailey said. “These people have no comprehension of what they are doing. They think every gun is a bad gun.’’

Craig Cooper can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or [email protected]
© 2002, Quad-City Times, Davenport, IA

 

[SaintofKillers]

I dont see how rewriting this bill eases the minds of gun manufacturers? They are still triyng to ban rifles and shotguns that are virtually never used in a crime. Since when can you easily conceal an AR15??? Or any other rifle for that matter. I want a concealed carry permit for my Armalite AR-50 yeah maybe if I was 10 feet tall. Keep on telling your reps that Illinois will not tolerate Daleys gun control package.

 

[Don Gwinn]

Mr. Munoz told the Senate Judiciary Committee that AR15s, AK47s and Uzis all come with folding stocks which allow the gun to be folded down to a length of "a foot to a foot and a half." I was there. I heard him.

As originally written, this bill would have banned manufacture and transport of the weapons in question--even for or to law enforcement and military units! Now they've apparently amended it so that it only bans those things for lesser mortals like us, and they expect that to fix things. I can't imagine that solves Les Baer's problem, or Armalite's. They aren't exactly rolling in money right now, so it's not like they can afford to write off civilian sales.

I wonder what happened to Kirk Dillard's boasting that he would make sure the bill passed in a form that "will not hurt hunters, competitors, sportsmen, or collectors."

 

[bad_dad_brad]

As a citizen of Illinois, I think this bill will evolve into somekind of unfortunate compromise.

I think the manufacture of ARs and "so called assualt rifles" will not be prohibited within the state.

I think the new purchases and transfers of ARs and "so called assualt rifles" will be prohibited.

I think if you bought your said rifle before the ban, you can keep it.

I think that .50 caliber law will be applied only to modern rifles, like the Barrett series of .50 rifles. It will not affect shotguns, hanguns, or modern muzzle loaders.

I don't like it, but I think that is how it will go down.

 

[Standing Wolf]

We also don’t want to be going after hunters.

Not until next year, or perhaps the year after.

 

[Jeff White]

Lets not forget that the Illinois State Police recently purchased 145 Bushmaster LE only black rifles with flash hiders, collapsible stocks and evil pistol grips. They only are about 32 inches long with the stock collapsed though..so the muct be ok in Senator Munoz's eyes.

Jeff

 

[SaintofKillers]

I am sorry I dont ever recall seeing a AR with a folding stock, all socalled assault weapons with the folding stock have been banned with the national assault weapon ban. I also thought that a UZI is considered a pistol not a rifle. I have seen AKs with folding stocks or no buttstock at all, still it does not make it eaily concealable non the less. The rifle is still over 30 in long. I guess no one would be suspicious of someone walking around in the chicago summer in a full length drover coat. This has become beyond stupid, 2 years 8 months, good bye Illinois.

 

[gun-fucious]

When was the second amendment EVER determined to protect leisure time hunting arms?

Don't let them paint your rights into a corner