Illinois Legislature Denies Protection from Violence

Illinois Legislature Denies Protection from Violence
U.S. Newswire
31 Jul 12:11

Illinois Legislature Denies Protection To Two Men Executed For
Minor Traffic Violation
To: State Desk
Contact: Richard Pearson of the Illinois State Rifle Association,
815-635-3198

CHICAGO, July 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released
today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

In spite of Governor George Ryan's moratorium on the death
penalty, two Chicago men were summarily executed Tuesday night for
making an illegal U-turn.

The 62-year-old driver of a rented van apparently struck a
pedestrian while making a U-turn on a residential street. A crowd
soon gathered and beat the driver and his 50-year-old passenger to
death with bricks, feet and fists.

The ISRA condemns this wanton act of vigilante justice and
points to it as yet another reason why Illinois should pass a
concealed carry law.

Illinois is one of a small handful of states that prohibits
law-abiding citizens from carrying defensive firearms. Laws
allowing citizens to carry defensive firearms are designed to deter
or even thwart incidents such as that seen in Chicago Tuesday
night.

"Those two poor souls never knew what hit them last night,"
commented ISRA president Richard Pearson. "But it didn't have to
be that way - they could have had a fighting chance but the
Illinois General Assembly refused to give it to them."

"In the last legislative session, the ISRA-supported Family and
Personal Protection Act was introduced in the Illinois House,"
continued Pearson. "The bill would have allowed qualified Illinois
citizens to carry firearms for the purpose of defending themselves
and their loved ones against criminals. Unfortunately for the good
people of Illinois, House Speaker Mike Madigan let the bill die in
his Rules Committee so as not to offend the state's
politically-connected gun control supporters."

"Until Illinois passes a concealed carry bill, anyone could
find themselves the helpless victim of a ruthless attack such as
that which occurred last night," said Pearson. "Gubernatorial
candidate Rod Blagojevich, and other opponents of concealed carry
actually provide tacit approval to blood thirsty mobs bent on
carrying out such barbaric acts of frontier justice."

-----
The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and
responsible firearms ownership. For nearly a century, the ISRA has
represented the interests of over 1.5 million law-abiding Illinois
firearm owners.

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07/31 12:11