Concealed carry law is too limiting

“Our View” editorialized on Aug. 14, “New Concealed Carry Law Needs refining.” I agree with that headline although not in the way you intend.

The new law is an improvement on the long-standing outright ban on citizens’ ability to protect their lives outside of the home or business, but is prohibitive to the degree that even the most conscientious individuals who choose to carry could find themselves in trouble for inadvertently winding up in a location that is off-limits, or by violating a technicality of the law.

This new law, like many, is written to ensure perpetual milk and honey for lawyers and politicians.

The example of the refining you’d like to see is state Sen. Dan Kotowski’s proposal to ban carry in churches.

Is the Daily Herald aware that the plaintiff in the lawsuit who prevailed in court against the carry ban that resulted in this legislation was an elderly woman, Mary Shepard, who was viciously attacked and severely injured by a violent thug while she was working at her church? Does the Daily Herald know that Kotowski is among the most virulent anti-self-defense politicians in the state? I think you do.

By your omission of these two important facts, you are treating your readers as children, hoping they’ll be fooled rather than informed.

To refine the law for the benefit of the good people of Illinois we must follow the lead of “constitutional carry” states like Vermont, Arizona, Wyoming and a few others: no government permission required to defend yourself, no fees, and no prohibited places. Only then can Illinoisans reclaim their rightful station among truly free Americans.

Glenn Garamoni

Ivanhoe