[I repost below a press release from the Illinois State Rifle Association. Visit this site for more info about the rally. Jonathan]
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Friday July 11, 2008 from 11:00am – 1:00 pm at the
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph St. in Chicago
The first rally of its kind in the history of Chicago!
Come celebrate the the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling that the Second Amendment to the Constitution protects an individual right.
Join the launch of a renewed push for Concealed Carry legislation in Illinois!
Featured Speaker: Dr. Suzanna Hupp – Former Texas Legislator
Dr. Suzanna Hupp is recognized worldwide as one of the leading advocates for an individual’s right to carry a concealed weapon. In 1991, after leaving her gun in her car in order to comply with the law, Suzanna watched helplessly as both her parents, along with 21 others were gunned down in a mass shooting at a local restaurant. As a survivor of this tragedy, her impassioned calls for the right of citizens to self-defense have thrust her into the national debate on the right to keep and bear arms. Since the Killeen massacre, she has testified numerous times across the country for the restoration of the Second Amendment.
Event Details & Transportation
It is important that we put our best foot forward and present the best image of Illinois firearm owners – friendly, courteous, and respectful of the other attendees and our surroundings. Suggested attire is casual/business casual. The rally is outside on the plaza, bring sunscreen if you are so inclined. There is a food court in the downstairs portion of the Thompson Center if you need to grab a quick bite before or after the event. We have been instructed to keep the entrances to the Thompson Center clear and also that we stay out of the street and not cause a traffic hazard.
There are many ways to get to the Thompson Center via public transportation: CTA Trains and buses, Metra, Amtrak. Go to ChicagoRally.isra.org for more details.
Volunteers
Additional volunteers are needed for ground crew at the event, and will meet at 10:00 at the stage on the plaza. Contact Don Gwinn if you can help out, send mail to: dongwinn@thefiringline.com.
More Info
Go to ChicagoRally.isra.org for more details.
Email questions to ChicagoRally@isra.org.
Two blocks from my office. I will walk over for sure.
I will be out there too. A bit further for me but a good cause, obviously.
why bother? got your gun? carry it. Play macho. why not join the military and help the nation. Statws show that the more gusns per state, the more gun deaths per state.
why bother?
Why defend any fundamental right?
Statws show that the more gusns per state, the more gun deaths per state.
Actually, no, they don’t. You might acquaint yourself with some facts.
Fred can’t even spell.
Why feed him?
Perhaps Lapides stat is correct, but it is also meaningless. I’d be quite surprised if the number of gun deaths in, say, California or New York isn’t higher than the number of gun deaths in, say, North Dakota or Wyoming or Nebraska. Much as these states are the homes of hunters, I’d also be surprised if there weren’t fewer guns. When he says “per state”, I assume he means what he says – the number per state.
Actually, the statistics are the other way around.
However, the whole issue is irrelevant, and while it is going to take some time, people are just going to have to get used to seeing armed people. That is the trend of the future. The whole dynamics have changed. Now, the burden will be on the government to justify the regulation, and, in a lot of cases, those regulations will fail.
This is probably a “what’s the point” comment and I’m not sure if Thomas Felix is addressing my comment anyway.
But the gun deaths in Nebraska were 35, Montana 25, S. Dakota 4, and N Dakota 8. In California, deaths were 2202, in Texas 1056, in New York 892. Surely New York’s 18%19,297,729 is larger than Montana’s 58% of 957,861. (Or in honor of our Vice President, Wyoming’s 60% of 522,830.
The fact is that every law abiding citizen has the right to defend themselves and their families from violence as setforth by the 2nd. amendment and ruled constitutional by the highest court in the land. This includes Chicago. I intend to exercise my right as I have always done in the past & I feel it is also my duty to do so.
As far as concealed carry and statistics; who can say how many lives were saved by simply the presentation of a handgun in a life threating crisis?
Thank God I live in southern Illinois & not Cook county even though we have the wrath of Blago down here too. Hopefully though not for much longer.
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms… disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes… Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” — Jefferson’s “Commonplace Book,” 1774-1776, quoting from On Crimes and Punishment, by criminologist Cesare Beccaria, 1764