Editorial: Cook County backs off bullet tax;

focuses on taxing constitutional rights

David A. Lombardo

As of Wednesday I finally got it. I thought Cook County (Illinois) Board president Toni Preckwinkle was simply clueless and towing the party anti-gun line. You know, doing whatever she could to assure only criminals have guns and her constituents are defenseless. But Wednesday's Chicago Tribune article by Hal Dardick recalibrated my thinking and I'm always willing to admit it when I'm wrong.

In Preckwinkle backs off bullet tax Dardick reported the five cent bullet tax had been taken off the table: WHOOSH = $400,000 of potential county income gone in the stroke of a pen or perhaps puff of a cigar in some dimly lit back room. Does anyone know if either Democratic Commissioner John Fritchey or Edwin Reyes smokes stogies? I'll send them a box of my favorites for taking Preckwinkle to the woodshed.

According to Dardick, the duo had their sights set on both the gun and bullet tax but there wasn't a big enough woodshed available to spank the gun tax out of the Prez. But when it came to the bullet tax she didn't buckle; she felt our pain.

"As it was proposed, the taxes on some boxes of bullets would have been greater than the cost of the bullets themselves," she noted. Kind of brings a tear to your eye knowing she really does care. She then followed that up with the county will "continue to review the ammunition tax over the course of the next year." I do love a politician with clear cut goals but back to why I've changed my opinion.

It's the let's-tax-a-constitutional-right issue. The plan for the roughly $600,000 she expects will be raised by a $25 per gun purchase is to bolster a $2.0 million fund to support anti-second amendment groups. Now put aside for the moment that Chicago gun buyers will flock to the collar counties to buy guns if for no other reason than to flip off Preckwinkle which unfortunately it will probably be the death knell to some Cook County gun stores. If you can put that aside for the moment look at the beauty of the plan.

What taxing guns to make money for anti-gun groups says is its okay to tax constitutional rights as long as it's a revenue generator! Think of the potential. First amendment: Speaking out against liberalism will cost $5 a word which will go into an anti-Christmas holiday fund. If you think about it just by being flexible this can work in a lot of different ways.

John Q can make a couple of bucks when we toss the Third Amendment and require John Q to quarter ex-Illinois Governors and Chicago Alderman in a halfway house environment but you'll get $25 a day per felon. And eventually it will lead to just doing away with the Bill of Rights. Perhaps we'll toss out the Sixth Amendment guarantee to a speedy trial and being able to confront the accuser. Oh wait, it's already been done in Will County.

Mea culpa, I was wrong about Ms. Preckwinkle. She's not simply clueless; she's Machiavellian and clueless. If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times: Elections have consequences.

Boone & Crockett Releases

List of Top 125 Trophy Counties

Earlier this week, in commemoration of its 125th anniversary, the Boone and Crockett Club released an historic list of the Top 125 trophy counties across the U.S. The list is based on Boone and Crockett big-game records-trophy data going back to 1830 and long used by conservationists to gauge outstanding habitat, strong recruitment of game animals into older age classes, sustainable harvest objectives and other elements of sound wildlife management and fair-chase hunting. "The good news is trophy production appears to be trending upward with many species and across much of North America," said Boone and Crockett Club president Ben Wallace. "In fact, last year our records program had 979 new entries, compared to 372 just 30 years ago." Heading the list was Wyoming, Carbon County (282 pronghorn in B&C records). In 91^st place was Illinois Jo Davies County with 31 typical whitetail deer in B&C records; Pike County listed at 108^th with 28 non-typical whitetail deer in B&C records; Illinois' Fulton County at 110 with 26 non-typical whitetail deer and at 115^th Illinois Adams County with 24 non-typical whitetail deer.

SAF Remarks to UN Stopped by Storm

The Second Amendment Foundation's Julianne Versnel was in New York Sunday when the oncoming hurricane caused the UN to shut down. But her message will resonate with armed citizens, and especially female gun owners, who understand that attempts to push global gun control and minimize the right of self-defense are a threat to liberty and human rights. Her scheduled remarks are underscored by messages on social media about planned looting by thugstaking advantage of the storm. Versnel was prepared to say, "The right of self-defense is a right that is particularly important to women. We have a right to protect ourselves against assault and rape. No one questions that violence against women is endemic. Mr. Chairman there are those who say women should rely on the police, the authorities, or even the UN for protection; I reject this idea. In fact Mr. Chairman, this concept is part of the outmoded and disproved idea that women are somehow weaker and must rely on men for their protection.

U.S. Airways reverses decision;

will check firearms to Spain

During the spring of 2012, Safari Club International members alerted the SCI Washington, DC office that U.S. Airways had changed their baggage handling regulations in regards to firearm transport to and from Spain. SCI's Washington office corresponded with Barbara Crown of the Hunting Report to confirm that her readers had also noted the prohibition of flying with firearms. In July, SCI's Washington lobbyists met with representatives of Airlines 4 America, which is the trade association for the airline industry. SCI followed up that meeting by sending a letter to U.S. Airways requesting an immediate reversal of their position to refuse firearm transport to Spain. As of October 26^th SCI can confirm that hunters will now be able to check their firearms to Spain when traveling with U.S. Airways. In an exclusive discussion with Safari Club International's DC office, U.S. Airways' Managing Director for Security described the new customs procedures being required by Spain to import firearms as checked baggage. U.S. Airways developed a new baggage tagging system that satisfies both private citizen's luggage security and the customs requirements of Spain.