Editorial: The right to bear arms

David A. Lombardo

At no time in recent history has the demand for the right to bear arms for personal protection been greater. In the Chicago metropolitan area not a day goes by that the newspapers don't report ever-increasing murder and mayhem.

Unseasonably warm weather this past week brought out the crazies resulting in an astonishing orgy of violence leaving nine people dead and over 40 wounded. Most of it was on the city's south side but overall it covered a territory ranging from West Rogers Park to Humboldt Park. One of the dead was a six year old girl as a result of gang violence in the Little Village neighborhood. The suspects included two boys, 18 and 16, both Latin Kings and the latter of who was already the target of a warrant.

To say law abiding citizens want to be able to protect themselves would be a dramatic understatement and they aren't limited to red meat eating conservatives clutching their guns and bibles either. Recently several known liberal print commentators went on record saying they still don't like guns but it's probably time for concealed carry in Illinois. One pointed out in a Chicago Tribune piece that with 49 states having weighed in, the anti-gun "blood will run in the streets" mantra has simply proven to be false.

Others have weighed in a bit more specifically such as Illinois' Pike County. In the election earlier this week the voters of Pike County approved a firearms concealed-carry ordinance by a 3,214 to 550 margin in what's been cited as the largest voter turnout in Pike County history. In reality it's all growl and no teeth since the ordinance is in direct opposition to Illinois law which takes precedence but it is a point the legislature should note well. Historians have stated that it's the first time since 1862 that county voters in any U.S. state have explicitly reversed a state law. The previous example was when the five western counties of Virginia seceded to form the new state of West Virginia. Word has it that other counties around Illinois are considering following Pike County's lead.

All the outrage and demand for concealed carry brings us to the shooting of Sanford, Florida's Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. Martin, an African-American 17 year old, who was walking home through a gated community armed only with a bag of Skittles candy and a can of iced tea, was confronted by the 28 year old Zimmerman. The latter held the full weight and authority of captain of the neighborhood watch group bolstered by Florida's Stand Your Ground law. From what I've read Zimmerman's 911 call included racial epithets and capped a series of 46 emergency calls he'd made over the previous six years. Depending upon who's speaking Zimmerman is a saint or the devil; at this point no one appears to have said anything about Martin other than he was a good kid walking home with a bag of candy and iced tea.

How this plays out remains to be seen but my observation, based on having had hundreds of students take concealed carry and home protection classes from me, is there's a heck of a lot of demand for the right to bear arms bolstered by an equally huge amount of misinformation and over-confidence in one's ability and understanding of the law. There are, in my opinion, two simple truths to the concealed carry issue.

First, all law abiding citizens should have the legal right to carry a firearm for personal protection but some law abiding citizens should think twice about actually carrying one.

Second, with rights come responsibilities and one major responsibility is getting the proper education on what the law says and how to use a firearm properly. While I don't like the idea of a government body setting those requirements, I strongly believe the industry should regulate and police itself to assure those who carry the power to take a life know what they're doing.

Brownell's/NRA youth award