We see this from the Chicago Sun-Times, sent to me by a retired big-city police official whose career taught him to carry his gun always.  He still does, and recommends that other good people do too, even if they aren’t ex-cops like him. http://www.suntimes.com/15644719-761/cook-county-mulling-violence-tax-on-guns-and-ammunition.html .

Ya wanna know who’s shooting people unlawfully in Cook County?  Ask any Cook County deputy, or any Chicago cop.  “It’s the gang-bangers, stupid!”  If you don’t already follow my favorite police blog, Second City Cop, you can find it here:  http://secondcitycop.blogspot.com/.  They’ll tell you the truth that so much of Chicago’s mainstream media pointedly ignores, out of political correctness.

But instead, we see a feelgood politician trying to tax the law-abiding people who are least likely to harm the innocent, ignoring the fact that it will be ignored by the people most likely to steal the guns and ammo they use to commit their heinous crimes.

They didn’t name it “the windy city” for what Nature blows in from across Lake Michigan, so much as they named it after the clueless blowhard politicians who flourish there.

1 COMMENT

  1. If the City of Chicago decides to impose the tax, the gangbangers will undoubtedly start shopping in the suburbs where there isn’t a tax.

    Some of these “solutions” are so stupid it is hard to imagine how they think them up.

  3. Cook County isn’t even smart about bilking the public out of money — if they were even close they’d be calling for CCW licenses and plenty of ranges so people could buy guns and ammo, thus filling the coffers. Instead, they stand with a straight face and say “we’re taxing it to cut down on gun violence” and “we’re relying on this tax money to balance the books.”

    Our governor has been working on an internet ammo ban since the Colorado mass murderer struck, but so far not much progress. Fortunately, there are plenty of suburban gun stores here in the collar counties, or Wisconsin and Indiana aren’t too far for a stock-up run.

    Wonder how long until they try to ban handloading? I suppose the gang bangers could start turf wars over Dillon vs. Hornady, red vs. blue? Better ban that too.

  4. Don’t expect sky-high taxes to stop with ammo and guns in Chicago. As a failed city with too few productive people for a huge poverty population – and a lot of corruption in politics – expect it to try taxing EVERYTHING heavily, especially things mainly nonvoters (suburbanites, tourists, business travelers) use: rental cars, live-theater tickets, etc.

  5. “Ya wanna know who’s shooting people unlawfully in Cook County? Ask any Cook County deputy, or any Chicago cop. ‘It’s the gang-bangers, stupid!’ ”

    And that was the thesis to my high-school senior paper. Funny thing was, my English teacher who was a die-hard liberal had a face of utter bewilderment after she read my paper. I can only describe it as a “wait….really…???”

    I guess in the liberal-mind everyone follows the rules/laws. Even criminals…somehow…

    Unfortunately, the said English teacher said while I did present a very good argument, guns were still scary.

  6. Remember that it is not YOUR money. ALL money starts out as government money. Your just luckey that they give you an allowance like Mom and Dad.

  7. When I read this today I honestly believed that there must be something in the food supply rendering these folks incapable of rational thought. This is as clever as taxing all drivers in order to eliminate drunk driving. Instead, how about giving law enforcement the means and political support to do their job?

  9. Best way to send a message to Chicagoland is in what they understand – MONEY. Boycott all tourism and retail in Chicago until they call off this.

  11. This new tax has a two part reason. First the establishment doesn’t want anyone to even own a gun so they try to make it as painful to do so as possible.

    Second is that the city needs money to continue to run their welfare handout programs that keep the dems in power. Need proof? Cook county had the highest sales tax in the nation at a whopping 10%. They also recently tried to put a “security” tax of $5.00 per month on every person’s electric bill. The new tax had nothing to do with electricity or the electricity company. They wanted bury it in the electricity bill because the vast majority of the people would never notice.

    Let us not forget that a tax is legalized theft at the point of a gun and in this case they’re holding the gun.

  12. So let me get this straight: they want to place a $0.10 (possibly more) tax per cartridge, and that’s supposed to stifle gun violence? Gun violence usually only needs a few bullets, maybe even just one. All this law would hurt is people like me who go to the range weekly to fire 200-300 rounds. Most of the criminals they want to stop probably haven’t fired 100 rounds in their lives. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind paying the extra $10 for that, assuming they buy the ammo rather than steal it.

  13. Illinois Bob forgot a third aspect: ever-higher taxes to prop up Chicago’s and Cook County’s unsustainable spending temporarily will only accelerate the middle class’ flight – thus making that area even more unsustainable as a place mainly of the (many) poor and (few) rich.

  14. I’m a truck who drives thru Chicago all the time. I remember back in April (I think) hearing a local radio station touting the fact that in the past 24hrs there were no murders or gun violence. Mayor Rahm was quoted as saying “This is the Chicago we all remember” I said “Huh?” that was an isolated incident, and they nearly had a parade! The next day it was back to business as usual, drive-bys, murders etc…

  15. Just like they passed an “entertainment surcharge” on gentlemen’s clubs in Cook County, purportedly to aid female victims of domestic and sexual abuse. Toni Preckwinkle was behind that, too.

  17. Any new laws/regulations/hoops are just diversions, voodoo, smoke and mirrors having no actual measurable effect, and they only really impact law abiding citizens … you think gang-bangers actually buy their ammo?

    My take away from this post is ” A retired big-city police official whose career taught him to carry his gun always. He still does, and recommends that other good people do too, even if they aren’t ex-cops like him.”

    Reminds me of Breda The Librarian who said “Carry your gun, it’s a lighter burden than regret.”

  18. If they believe that increasing taxes on some “thing” results in less of that “thing”…then what do they thing taxing success results in? Maybe that same logic doesn’t apply…only use it to suit their agenda, apparently.

    I’ve had several opportunities to go to Chicago this year, I live very close to Illinois. I chose to go elsewhere for vacations to keep our $$ out of that cesspool. I don’t want to go anywhere unarmed that I don’t have to go.

  19. Chicago, meet Detroit–there’s your future.

    But hey, Crook Co pols have to live large; it’s a tough job you know…

  20. Well, with our Dear Leader’s former(?) boyfriend now running Chicago, what can you expect? Chicago politicians are sometimes described as being “blowhards”. Maybe they just ‘blow hard’ when it comes to favors.

    Seriously, I think the spirit of Alfonse Capone still guides politicians in that burg, or maybe as one of the readers here mentioned, there is something in the food/water supply of Chicago that makes many of it’s inhabitants whacky. I once had a stopover of two hours at O’Hare airport on my way up to Traverse City, Michigan, enroute to the Second Chance Shoot up in Central Lake and considered looking around Chicago, but nixed that dumb idea and took a nap in the airport instead, which may have saved my life.

    I feel sorry for the minority of good people who live in that corrupt city.

  21. How about this for the flipside of gun news:

    Kalispell man won’t be charged for fatally shooting lover’s husband

    http://missoulian.com/news/local/kalispell-man-won-t-be-charged-for-fatally-shooting-lover/article_6eaddc92-126f-11e2-9cf4-001a4bcf887a.html

    “She and Harper took a drive around 8 p.m. and realized that Fredenberg was following them, according to Corrigan’s brief. The woman dropped off Harper at his home and told him to go inside and not answer the door.

    Instead, Harper retrieved a gun and stood just inside the door leading from his laundry room into the open garage. As Fredenberg entered the garage, Harper pointed the gun at him and told him to stop. When Fredenberg continued moving toward him, he shot the man in the abdomen.

    “(Fredenberg) bent over, stated ‘you shot me,’ and, according to (Harper), continued to move towards him,” Corrigan stated in his brief. “(Harper) then shot him two more times and he collapsed at the foot of the stairs leading into the laundry room, approximately 2 feet from (Harper).”

    The second and third shots struck Fredenberg in the left shoulder and grazed the right side of his face.

    “Were we to charge (Harper) with homicide and proceed to trial, I am convinced the judge and/or jurors would conclude that (Harper) reasonably believed he was about to be assaulted and that his use of force was therefore justified under Montana law,” Corrigan wrote. “We lack the evidence necessary to prove otherwise beyond a reasonable doubt.””

  23. Is “carry your gun even if you aren’t a cop” sound advice? If you were ever caught doing so you would be a felon and lose the right to even own guns let alone carry a gun for the rest of your life. I value this right at the same level as it was put into our constitution. I would rather stay legal than chance losing the ability to carry if this silly state ever gets its head screwed on straight.

    Illinois is a shining example of what Governor Romney meant with his 47% comment. The people here are hard working people who believe in common sense ideas. We are controlled by what Chicago wants and because Chicago has a greater population than the rest of the state we really have no say. The more people we can have receiving government cheese the longer the people who give that cheese will stay in power. They remain in power until the cheese is gone and then the rats not only jump ship but bite the hands that held the cheese.

    There was a movement in my county to pass a concealed carry permit despite what the state says about it. It wouldn’t overrule the state but the county would not prosecute anyone for carrying against state law within the county. We had over 11000 people in support of it but it was ultimately dropped because the county politicians didn’t want to anger the state controlling body and lose their government cheese.

    Any new tax scheme here is nothing more than an attempt to create a new cheese factory and stay in power longer. It isn’t about what is right, legal or in the best interest of the people. But hey, I shouldn’t complain. At present I can still go to my favorite 7/11 and get a 32 ounce slurpie.

  24. Correct me if I am wrong but the criminals shooting the guns are getting their guns illegally thus a ‘violence tax’ is only going to punish law-abiding citizens who would much rather NOT shoot in a confrontation. Criminals aren’t going to be paying a tax on bullets or guns – isn’t this who the tax is targeted at? Why should citizens have to – again – pay for what criminals choose to do illegally?

  25. This sounds like an excellent way to expand the underground market in guns and ammo in Chicago. If prohibition and the war on drugs have taught us anything, it’s that once you prohibit (or try to tax out of existence) product for which there is a general demand, an underground market for that product will flourish and even be seen as acceptable by many otherwise law-abiding citizens.

    You may also see a turn to larger, more powerful weapons. If I can’t get my ammo any other place and am forced to pay a per-round tax, I’m going to get the most powerful ammo I can manage to minimize the number of rounds I may have to use.

    Of course, as Jon pointed out yesterday, this really only hurts the law-abiding gun owners. A gang banger only needs one bullet to kill. At most, he might spray a full mag. So most crimes will only end up using anywhere from one to a dozen or so rounds. – pocket change if you’re intent on murdering someone. On the other hand, if you want to become proficient in the use of your gun, you’ll be shooting hundreds – possibly thousands – of rounds per month.

  26. On a related note, I’ve been doing some careful research on the Illinois Unlawful Use of Weapons law, and I want to share something I’ve learned:

    As most know, one can be charged with a Felony in Illinois just for the possession of a concealed weapon. My understanding had been that it was the DA’s choice to charge with a felony or misdemeanor. But that is not always the case. Here is a little good news: A first offense of carrying a concealed weapon (assuming no other criminal activity is involved), does not bring a felony charge, but “only” a misdemeanor charge. This is assuming that one is not caught with the weapon in a school or “within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising any school, public park, courthouse, or residential property owned, operated, and managed by a public housing agency”. In that case it becomes a Class 4 felony. The same thing goes for getting caught with a weapon at any location that serves alcohol or at any public event for which admission is charged. Then it’s also a felony.

    Here’s a very important point: While the first offense is just a misdemeanor (assuming the above geographic limitations are met), a second offense can bring about a felony charge – and a second offense can happen at the same time as the first offense if a second weapon is involved – IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU CARRY A BACKUP GUN IN ADDITION TO YOUR MAIN GUN AND YOU ARE CAUGHT WITH THEM, YOUR BACKUP GUN CAUSES YOU TO BE CHARGED WITH A SECOND OFFENSE THAT CAN AND MOST LIKELY WILL BE CHARGED AT FELONY LEVEL.

    I am sure you are all aware that Massad Ayoob does NOT condone illegal carry of firearms anywhere at any time. And neither do I. But I think it’s important for those living in Illinois to understand that where under most circumstances, if they carry one weapon and stay away from schools, bars, etc. if caught they can only be charged with a misdemeanor, where as if they carry a second backup weapon, they can and most likely will be charged with a felony.

    Best to all,

    .45StayAlive

  27. ATTENTION ALL OFFICERS:

    DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT, Vote for the FOP Crookago-Endorsed Democommies Bill Cunningham and Fran “Squirley” Hurley. Their fliers don’t even print on them that they are DEMOCRATS. Don’t believe the B.S. of FOP, Shields, or the Rest. They were ALL around when we got stuck with a BULLSHIT 2% Raise, and said NOTHING on our behalf publicly. Then the Teachers went on strike and got a good raise and benefits for being basically INCOMPETENT as far as results of Student Learning in the Chicago Public School System. Rewarded for THEIR incompetence, but once again, Cunninghamster and Squirley didn’t utter a thing. These are NOT the people you want to put into yet another CORRUPT City, State, or County Office. VOTE 100% STRAIGHT REPUBLICAN TICKET in the Nov. 6th Election. Another Big Win for Republicans and things will start changing for the better, here, and the entire Country. Repubs. APPRECIATE their Military and Police, Firefighters, etc. UNION Goons are just Bullshitting you, while collecting big salaries from your Dues Money, and doing little, or nothing for us in return. SCREW THEM. DON’T be CONNED AGAIN, by the Democrooks, and their TOOLS, like Shields and many others. The DEMOCOMMIES are the ones who screwed YOU, and YOUR Families with a BULLSHIT 2% Raise. The Raise prior to the last 2% INSULT wasn’t any damned good either, just average at best, for a great job done. Another INSULT. NOW, it’s YOUR TURN to SCREW THEM BACK. DON’T be a CHUMP. Vote STRAIGHT REPUBLICAN. Don’t Vote for even a SINGLE DEMOCLOWN, ANYMORE. They are ROBBING YOU,AND YOUR FAMILY BLIND. DON’T BE FOOLED AGAIN. LETS DO IT TO THEM AS THEY DID TO US. SHOW THE DEMS that we are NOT their STOOGES Anymore, and What goes around Comes Around..

  28. How about this. Any Crook County Customer that goes into a Gunshop OUTSIDE of Crook County gets a 5% Discount with proof of Crook County Residency. Show Preckwinkle and her fellow Crook County Democommies just how STUPID they are. The Crook Couinty Gunshops might loose some money at first, but I’d bet that Tax gets dropped real soon. The Crook County Gunshops could offer a 10% discount to offset the Crook County Tax.