Chicagoland Mayor Ditches Bloomberg’s Gun Control; Embraces Concealed Carry

OFF THE WIRE

by Ben Bullard

A Chicagoland mayor is embracing concealed carry in a very personal way, revealing he’s parting ways with an influential gun-control group after learning the group’s agenda goes far beyond its implied purpose of taking guns out of criminals’ hands.

Larry Morrissey, mayor of Rockford, Ill., a Chicago suburb, announced at a town hall forum Saturday he had dropped out of Mayors For Illegal Guns, the gun-control group begun by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, after realizing the group is more interested in infringing on Americans’ 2nd Amendment rights than in making sure that criminals don’t “illegally” get their hands on firearms.

“The reason why I joined the group in the first place was because I took the name for what it said – ‘against illegal guns,’” Morrissey said. “As the original mission swayed, that’s when I decided it was no longer in line with my beliefs.”

Morrissey, who won election in 2005 as a political independent, said he’s received death threats since taking office, and had so far availed himself of extra protection offered by the Rockford Police Department in order to keep himself and his family safe.

But he believes citizens should have the power to keep themselves safe, regardless of whether they have the luxury of a police detail. He told the a crowd of more than 200 that he intends to apply for an Illinois conceal carry permit — an announcement that garnered him a roar of applause.

“Any doubt that I might have had in my opinions about concealed carry when I first came into office changed quickly as I became an elected official and became very familiar with the types of crimes we’re dealing with,” he said. “The focus should not be against law-abiding citizens… I don’t want to put my family’s life at risk or my own life at risk if I can otherwise protect myself.”

H/T: Rockford Register Star