An Illinois prosecutor is taking things into his own hands and refusing to prosecute carriers of concealed weapons in his county, regardless of the fact that the governor is still weighing the passage of a bill that would legalize the practice, according to the Christian Science Monitor. The attorney is part of a group of local officials nationwide who are "going rogue" in civil disobedience efforts to protest against efforts to increase gun control.
The General Assembly of Illinois passed a bill that would allow state residents to carry guns in public places in May, which would end Illinois' status as the only state that doesn't allow its citizens to do so. However, Governor Pat Quinn, a Chicago Democrat, has not yet signed the bill.
Jeremy Walker, the State Attorney for Randolph County, said he would not prosecute people for carrying a gun in public in his county. The State Attorney of St. Louis' Madison County made a similar statement a few days ago.
High rates of gun violence in Chicago have made the state central in the gun control debate. The governor has already stated his opposition to a concealed carry law in the state.
"The legislation is wrong for Illinois," Quinn said in a statement after the Assembly passed the bill. "We need strong gun safety laws that protect the people of our state.
"Instead, this measure puts public safety at risk," he continued. "I will not support this bill and I will work with members of the Illinois Senate to stop it in its tracks."
Similar actions are occurring in Georgia and Texas. Sam Kamin, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Denver told the Christian Science Monitor that the civil disobedience sounds like the politics of the Civil War-era when southern officials refused to enforce federal laws.
"It sounds like the pre-Reconstruction south, where they vowed to arrest federal officers coming down to enforce federal law, which is just inherently inconsistent with the federal system," Kamin said.
The Illinois bill would not allow guns in certain public spaces, including schools and parks, as well as bars where more than 50 percent of sales are from liquor. The permits would require a background check, a valid Firearm Owner's Identification card and 16 hours of training.
Under current law, only security guards, police, hunter and members of target shooting clubs can carry concealed weapons.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
