Letter: Sheriff is speaking truth to power on gun laws

As a proud lifelong Democratic voter and liberal and a resident of Kane County, I applaud and support Sheriff Hain. He is speaking truth to power. The new gun law does nothing to address the root causes of violence; as he articulated, it is counterproductive. It pretends to deal with symptoms while ignoring the underlying disease. It is poorly written, confusing and convoluted.

It ignores established case law and constitutional rulings.

Putting energy into legislation that will not stand up in court is just empty posturing, and the state will waste millions of dollars in legal costs trying to defend it, but it will eventually be thrown out. But not before countless citizens unknowingly become felons.

The law randomly and carelessly expands the definition of "assault weapons" to include many of the most common target, competition and hunting guns.

Instead of confusing, dividing and entangling the political and legal landscape of our state, our legislators should put their efforts into real lasting improvements. Work on systemic racism, income equality, access to health care, quality education, meaningful job opportunities and entrenched misogyny. That is the real way to reduce violence.

Alienating responsible gun owners only weakens the ability of the Democratic Party to care for the citizens of Illinois and does not inhibit the violence prone. Thank you, Sheriff Hain, for speaking up.

Walter Arnold

Elgin