Area legislator, former police officer defend right to carry laws
Andrea Zimmermann
A nephew of Rep. Mike Bost died when he stepped in front of his cousin's loaded gun while the two were duck hunting, but Bost, R-Murphysboro, said even such a tragedy has not persuaded him that Illinois should have tougher gun laws. The Republican said he still supports a civilian's right to conceal and carry a weapon for protection because his nephew's death was not because a gun was present. "As rough as that was on our family, that was not the gun's fault," Bost said. "People in our family have been killed in cars, but that doesn't mean we should ban cars, either."
In honor of Second Amendment Day, the SIUC College Republicans sponsored a two-part speech Thursday in the Student Center in support of gun rights. "In areas like Chicago, St. Louis and East St. Louis, the word 'guns' is a bad word," said organization President John Teresi. "We need to change that stereotype and show that guns should really be a symbol of safety and not danger." The second amendment states "a well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."
Like much of the founding papers of the United States, the controversy is in the language. Gun control groups claim the second amendment refers to gun use when in a militia, but gun-rights supporters say it covers a civilian's rights to carry as well. "The second amendment is something that is kind of divisive and slightly controversial, even though it probably shouldn't be," Bost said. Bost said he is proud to have sponsored or co-sponsored almost every bill on gun rights that has gone through the Illinois Legislature. He said those who are against it are primarily northern legislators who only see guns during drive-by shootings.
There are a couple of bills in the Legislature that Bost said he and other downstate politicians are working to kill. These bills aim to put further bans on guns in Illinois, including assault weapons and .50-caliber rifles and ammunition. But complete or partial gun control is not the answer to reducing crime, Bost said, because statistics and studies show when laws limit guns, crime does not decrease. "If this were the case, Chicago would be a crime-free city," Bost said. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics on firearms and crime, firearm-related crime has plummeted since 1993, and nonfatal firearm crime rates reached its lowest levels in 2002 and 2003.
Thus far, 37 states have some kind of conceal and carry laws in place. Bost said some of those laws include precautionary measures that can prevent a crime increase. Those requirements can include a background check, gun certification by the state police and additional training every two or five years. Many gun control supporters argue that loose conceal and carry laws are major players in the school shootings of recent years. But Ralph Jones, a former police officer in Texas for more than 12 years, said he doesn't believe tighter gun laws would have prevented those mass slayings.
"It's hard to respond and not sound callous on one side and profiteering on the other, but I don't think even draconian gun laws would stop that anytime soon," Jones said. Jones, who followed Bost's speech, actively lobbied for Texas' conceal and carry laws that were passed in the mid-90s. He said it is better for nobody to know who has a gun than for criminals to know who does not.
"Bad guys pick the weakest targets," Jones said. "If you don't know who has got one, then that is a good enough reason for everyone to have one." Jones said despite his active role in conceal and carry law, the polarizing debate over gun control is saddening. "The answer lies in the middle, but the arguments are so polarizing you just have to examine the rhetoric from both sides," Jones said. "Maybe we will all be able to join back in the middle some time."
Last update: Friday, April 1, 2005 at 7:42:01 PM
Copyright 2009 Daily Egyptian Spring 05