By Greg Bishop/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Gun owners gathered in the Illinois capitol Wednesday for the annual Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day as lawmakers considered a vote to override a controversial gun control measure.
I-GOLD started at a convention center in Springfield, which then turned into a march down Capitol Avenue to the statehouse.
Speaking to the crowd outside the capitol, state Rep. Margo McDermed, R-Mokena, said such a show of support is important.
“We need everyone here in Springfield to know that when we are taking these positions it’s because there are so many people behind us demanding that we take those positions,” McDermed said.
Other legislators also spoke to thank the crowd and to address various gun-rights issues.
Libertarian candidate for governor Kash Jackson also spoke. He said he learned something in his 20-years of service in the military.
“The greatest threat to our constitution and to our freedoms does not lie on a foreign shore,” Jackson said. “The greatest threat to our freedoms lies in the pen of a legislator in that building right back there.”
No other gubernatorial candidates spoke at the rally outside the capitol.
While Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, says he doesn’t have a social agenda, he has said he’s a member of the National Rifle Association. Rauner recently vetoed a measure to require Illinois gun dealers to register with the state in addition to having to register with the federal government. He said the measure is too onerous for small businesses; the measure exempted big-box retailers.
The Senate did not attempt to override Rauner’s veto of the gun dealer licensing act. Wednesday was the deadline for that vote.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker’s website says he would sign a gun dealer licensing bill. Several other points on Pritzker’s website include banning “assault weapons [and] high capacity magazines.”
Aurora resident Stewart Lewis drove to Springfield for the rally. He said calling semi-automatic rifles “assault weapons” is ignorant.
“Go out and get educated on what a real machine gun is,” said Lewis, a Navy veteran. “Vets will tell you what a real machine gun is, not these modern sporting rifles we have, these AR-15s. What we’re carrying in these streets and what we own and what we possess and what we can buy for 500 bucks is not the same thing by a stretch.”
He said he feels misrepresented by his legislators.
“Start thinking about the majority, which is the law abiding citizens,” Lewis said. “The minority are the criminals, so start doing something to them. Hold them accountable. Stop throwing every mass shooting or every mass murder or whatever at the law abiding gun owners feet.”
Lewis said he plans to hold his legislators accountable for their votes on gun issues.
Rockford resident Dorothy Kazuk also traveled to Springfield to lobby her lawmakers for gun rights. She opposes laws she said infringe on gun owners rights, even those who are under 21.
“If an 18-year-old can serve this country, he or she can own a rifle, even an AK-47, an AR-15,” Kazuk said.
