http://www.rrstar.com/news/x816777156/Concealed-carry-proposal-gets-sup****t-of-sheriff
Concealed carry proposal gets sup****t of sheriff
Legal issues could still prevent the issuing of gun permits.
Jun 11, 2008
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ROCKFORD — Winnebago County Sheriff Dick Meyers lent his considerable
sup****t to the county’s concealed carry debate.
Meyers was the last of 30 speakers to take the podium, and he received
a standing ovation for his efforts.
“Let me get it out of the way,” he told the crowd. “I do not have a
problem with concealed carry.”
He said that “20 years ago, I would have told you different,” but
“we’re at a point where we don’t have a choice.”
The County Board is drafting a resolution that will authorize the
sheriff to issue gun permits to qualified citizens. Although the
resolution is still in draft form, at least 13 of the 28 board members
have already signed on.
Although he sup****ts the idea of concealed carry for the county,
Meyers said he would not issue permits, even if the board p***** the
resolution, if he is told by the state’s attorney’s office or the
Illinois attorney general’s office that doing so would be a violation
of state law.
“If our attorneys say we can issue a permit, that’s what I’ll do,”
Meyers said. “If they say I can’t, then I won’t, and that’s probably
when the courts will get involved.”
Shortly after the meeting broke up, Meyers elaborated a bit, saying
that while he doesn’t think all the sup****ters of the resolution can
legally do what they want and that some of the facts they are citing
might not be accurate, he understands the need for citizens to be able
to arm themselves.
“Wisconsin almost passed it; if they did, we’d be the only state
without some sort of concealed carry,” he said.
“I just think that this is what’s coming, and from a public safety
standpoint, it’s the right thing to do.”
Although the sheriff was the most well-known of the pro-resolution
crowd, several others took the podium in sup****t of the resolution. Of
the 30 speakers, only two came out against the proposal.
A number mentioned the shootings at Northern Illinois University as to
why citizens should be armed, and some referred to the U.S.
Constitution, particularly the Second Amendment, as a basis for their
beliefs.
A few came from out of county, drawn to the Memorial Hall meeting to
show their sup****t for what was happening in Winnebago County.
“There’s nothing worth dying for in my wallet,” said Mark McGee. “My
family, that’s a different story.”
Another man, Robert Stoner of Rockford, told a story about how he was
almost carjacked in the early 1980s and only got out of the jam when
he stuck a gun in his assailant’s face.
“Back then, it was only a misdemeanor (to carry a concealed firearm),”
Stoner said. “Nowadays, it’s a felony and I’d be locked up for it.”
Kirby Miracle, also of Rockford, said enacting a concealed carry
system would help the city and the county attract visitors.
Tom Owens, the County Board member who presided over the meeting, said
the turnout at the public hearing proved the people of Winnebago
County were embracing some form of concealed carry.
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