Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has long been setting the standard in Illinois for attacks on the Second Amendment . He intends to ban guns in Chicago. The problem, of course, is that only law-abiding citizens who legally own their guns would be affected, never mind the Constitution.
Now Illinois congressman Kenneth Dunkin (D) is following in Mayor Daley’s footsteps and is attempting to move his anti-gun agenda forward with Illinois HB 0687. There is, however, a difference in how he would go about it. The approach is to raise the cost of gun ownership by requiring Illinois gun owners to insure their firearms with $1,000,000 liability policies against damages resulting from willful acts involving the use of their firearms by anyone, even by someone who has stolen it. The insurance, if it could be obtained, would be prohibitively expensive.
Insurers would be rightfully reluctant to insure a gun against all willful acts. Life insurance policies contain exceptions for suicide and fire insurance excludes acts of arson by the policy holder. It’s hard to imagine that an insurance provider would insure a gun against any and all willful acts, without exception.
HB 0687 is immoral at best and unconstitutional at worst. We should not be required to pay for the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. It reminds me of a poll tax, which was found by the United States Supreme Court to be unconstitutional. The court ruled that it was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to make the affluence of the voter an electoral standard. It seems that the same reasoning would apply to the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Otherwise low-income citizens would be unable to exercise that right.
I, among many, intend to stand against this bill. A good place to start is to participate in the IGOLD event in Springfield on March 11.
http://igold.isra.org
Friday, March 6, 2009
Chicago Tea Party
Part of the reason I wanted to get American Dreamer up and running was to be able to post about the Chicago Tea Party last Friday, February 27.
I hadn’t participated in any type of demonstration since I moved to Illinois over ten years ago, largely because the corruption in Illinois politics is so deeply ingrained that change seems hopeless. Yes, there is irony in that choice of words. Chicago’s favorite son, Barack Obama, has become President of the United States. Disturbing and troubling change has come rapidly in his short time as President.
The touted “stimulus bill” was pushed through Congress so quickly that the congressmen and women didn’t read it before voting. The new “transparent” administration assured concerned citizens that the $820 billion package would be posted on line 48 hours prior to the vote, a promise that was broken. The bill is filled with special-interest appropriations, raising suspicion that the troubled economy was a straw man for a Congressional spending frenzy. A grass roots movement sprang up, spreading rapidly across the United States. Ordinary citizens took to the streets in protest of the bill.
I was happy and proud to attend the Chicago protest alongside hundreds of other Illinoisians exercising our right to free speech and assembly. At one point I stood away from the crowd and surveyed the event with an intentional lack of expectation. I saw a speaker with a bullhorn, a young man with a British accent dressed in costume and powdered wig (Samuel Adam), a variety of hand-written signs, several “Don’t Tread on Me” flags along with American flags, people leading the crowd in various chants, clusters of Chicago city police around the fringe of the crowd, and several camera crews from news outlets. I felt like a 60s radical! It was exhilarating to participate in the tradition of American protest.
More protests are now being planned for “tax day”, April 15.
Go here and click on a state for more information:
http://taxdayteaparty.com
I'm reading the novel right now, so I had to include this:
I wish they would just tell us what they think . . . "
I love this photo of the Chicago skyline:
That's me hiding behind the "Save the Free Market" sign: (by permission)
Sam Adams:
I hadn’t participated in any type of demonstration since I moved to Illinois over ten years ago, largely because the corruption in Illinois politics is so deeply ingrained that change seems hopeless. Yes, there is irony in that choice of words. Chicago’s favorite son, Barack Obama, has become President of the United States. Disturbing and troubling change has come rapidly in his short time as President.
The touted “stimulus bill” was pushed through Congress so quickly that the congressmen and women didn’t read it before voting. The new “transparent” administration assured concerned citizens that the $820 billion package would be posted on line 48 hours prior to the vote, a promise that was broken. The bill is filled with special-interest appropriations, raising suspicion that the troubled economy was a straw man for a Congressional spending frenzy. A grass roots movement sprang up, spreading rapidly across the United States. Ordinary citizens took to the streets in protest of the bill.
I was happy and proud to attend the Chicago protest alongside hundreds of other Illinoisians exercising our right to free speech and assembly. At one point I stood away from the crowd and surveyed the event with an intentional lack of expectation. I saw a speaker with a bullhorn, a young man with a British accent dressed in costume and powdered wig (Samuel Adam), a variety of hand-written signs, several “Don’t Tread on Me” flags along with American flags, people leading the crowd in various chants, clusters of Chicago city police around the fringe of the crowd, and several camera crews from news outlets. I felt like a 60s radical! It was exhilarating to participate in the tradition of American protest.
More protests are now being planned for “tax day”, April 15.
Go here and click on a state for more information:
http://taxdayteaparty.com
I'm reading the novel right now, so I had to include this:
I wish they would just tell us what they think . . . "
I love this photo of the Chicago skyline:
That's me hiding behind the "Save the Free Market" sign: (by permission)
Sam Adams:
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Going John Galt
“Going Galt” is a fascinating phenomenon which is especially interesting to me at this time, because I’m reading Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged. Otherwise, I would have no idea what it means to Go Galt.
Go here to read more.
http://onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=436024
Go here to read more.
http://onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=436024
America's Christian Heritage
In my first post I must acknowledge my belief that the foundation of America’s greatness is her Christian heritage. I learned in second grade that one of the first acts of the men of the Virginia Company upon their arrival at Cape Henry was to erect a wooden cross in the sand. As an adult I understand more fully that they recognized the necessity of thanking God for his faithfulness and protection.
These first Americans were committed to the advancement of the Christian faith.
In the first charter of Virginia they proclaimed their desire to “propagate the Christian Religion to such people as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God.”
The Second Charter of Virginia stated that their principal purpose was “the Conversion . . . of the people in those parts unto the true worship of God and the Christian religion.”
The Mayflower compact stated their purpose to be the “advancement of the Christian faith.”
The charter of the New England Confederation stated their purpose as “… namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ...” and George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."
There is an attempt today to ignore, even rewrite, the religious underpinnings of America. My conservative convictions are based on these underpinnings. I value and adhere to the beliefs that all men are created equal, that we are one nation under God, that we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We cannot improve on the brilliance of our Constitution and Bill of Rights for equality and freedom, nor can we remain free if we forget that all life and freedom is first given by God.
These first Americans were committed to the advancement of the Christian faith.
In the first charter of Virginia they proclaimed their desire to “propagate the Christian Religion to such people as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God.”
The Second Charter of Virginia stated that their principal purpose was “the Conversion . . . of the people in those parts unto the true worship of God and the Christian religion.”
The Mayflower compact stated their purpose to be the “advancement of the Christian faith.”
The charter of the New England Confederation stated their purpose as “… namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ...” and George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."
There is an attempt today to ignore, even rewrite, the religious underpinnings of America. My conservative convictions are based on these underpinnings. I value and adhere to the beliefs that all men are created equal, that we are one nation under God, that we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We cannot improve on the brilliance of our Constitution and Bill of Rights for equality and freedom, nor can we remain free if we forget that all life and freedom is first given by God.
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