Daley unveils annual gun control legislation

Daley, You know you could just address the financial issues of city government instead of chasing after this idea of gun control. You might need to listen to the man who's going to sponsor this legislation. From the Sun-Times...

Moved by the shooting deaths of five students at Northern Illinois University, Mayor Daley today unveiled his annual package of gun control legislation, even as a state senate sponsor acknowledged that none of the bills could have prevented the tragedy.

Once again, Daley wants to ban semiautomatic assault weapons and .50-caliber military-grade rifles, use the State Police to license gun dealers and limit handgun purchases to one a month per person.
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He also wants to close the “private sale loophole” that allows people to buy guns from each other without scrutiny.

But there are a few new wrinkles, like mandating trigger locks and locked containers in homes where guns are accessible to children under 18, instead of 14. Daley also wants to ban the sale and possession of high-capacity magazines and require that some semiautomatic pistols be capable of microstamping ammunition to trace it.

After joining the mayor for his annual gun control news conference at police headquarters, State Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago) acknowledged that none of the bills would have prevented Steve Kazmierczak from opening fire on Valentine’s Day afternoon in a crowded NIU lecture hall.

Kazmierczak struggled with mental illness, but he was not prohibited from buying guns. He had a valid firearm owner’s identification card and purchased the guns legally.

But Daley said the magnitude of the NIU tragedy and other recent shootings in schools, stores and government buildings just might turn the tide.

“The tragedy in Tinley Park. The tragedy out at NIU. The tragedy at Kirkwood [Missouri]. All the tragedies in the junior and four-year college systems across the country. Then, you go to high schools. I think it’s an epidemic,” Daley said. “And it’s an epidemic whether or not we’re becoming immune from it. It doesn’t shock people. It doesn’t frighten people anymore. …That’s something America has to come to grips with.”

Guns owned by responsible people shouldn't be a problem and I really think it makes no sense to restrict people from owning guns. I also think that it's not good that Daley doesn't trust the people who live in "his" city to be responsible with guns. Perhaps responsible citizens with a firearm might make our streets much safer.

Daley and others I really think are going after the wrong boogey man here.