It continues to amaze me when I see states or small local areas trying to pass laws that restrict Constitutionally guaranteed rights. Illinois seems to rapidly be approaching California like dominance in this area.

The very excellent TriggerFinger blog turned me onto this story.....

In Illinois, Governor Blagojevich and his Chicago cronies continue their headlong, brains-short push to remove any vestige of the Second Amendment from the state. Currently they're frothing-at-the-mouth to get an "assault weapons ban" passed. That would be -- you know, a prohibition on any firearm that looks scary. Interestingly, there seems to be some disagreement over the bill's chances this Spring. From the Pantagraph (IL):

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's renewed push for a statewide ban on assault weapons may not be called for a vote this spring.

One of his top allies in the General Assembly said on Monday the issue might be just too contentious to move forward before lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn April 7.

"I don't think anything will happen with that," said Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, co-chairman of the governor's re-election effort. "It would be very difficult to pass that over here."

That assessment comes just five weeks after Blagojevich made the assault weapons ban a cornerstone of his State of the State speech.

A federal ban on the weapons expired in September 2004 and Blagojevich wants Illinois lawmakers to approve legislation to ban the manufacture, possession and delivery of semiautomatic assault weapons, assault weapons attachments, large capacity ammunition feeding devices and the .50 caliber rifle.

The definition of a "semi-automatic assault weapon" being left to the capricious whims of the governor and his friends, I suppose. Apparently though, Jone's prediction hasn't made it all the way to the top office. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

SPRINGFIELD -- Legislation banning semiautomatic assault weapons would not likely pass the state Senate if the bill makes its way out of the House, Illinois Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) said Monday.

Despite these comments, state Rep. Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago) said he still plans to call the bill this week in the House.

"I'm not discouraged. I'm going to push forward," Acevedo said. "This is an important piece of legislation, and we shouldn't wait around."

[...]

"We're continuing to do everything we can to get the bill through the House," said Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch. "We're focused on trying to get the 60 votes we need."

If the bill passes the House, it would likely get stuck in the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Jones spokeswoman Cindy Davidsmeyer. The committee is composed of six Democrats and four Republicans.

At least two Democratic senators would vote against the bill, said the committee's chairman, Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago). But Cullerton said the bill could be sent to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, where it would have a better chance of survival.

Todd Vandermyde, Illinois legislative liaison for the National Rifle Association, hopes that's not the case. He said though Jones' comments were good news, the battle isn't over.

"This doesn't change our plan to fight this thing tooth and nail," Vandermyde said.

Two things. First, the threat to send the bill to a friendlier committee would be a dishonest attempt to ram the legislation through the senate by allowing the Senate Health & Human Services Committee -- one that normally wouldn't get involved in altering criminal codes as they relate to constitutional issues.

Secondly, if votes on the issue are that close in both the house and senate, obviously this [the state AWB] is opposed by at least half the legislators and -- by extension -- their constituents. The bill failed last year. When will the Governor and his liberal base realize that maybe gun control is a losing issue for Democrats? Oh wait! Democrats haven't learned that on the national level yet, either.

More than that though, if this bill passes, it could hurt the state economically. From CNS News:

Several Illinois-based gun manufacturers are mobilizing opposition to a bill dubbed the "Blagojevich Assault Weapons Ban."

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley are pushing the bill (HB2414) that would prohibit the "manufacture, delivery, and possession of semiautomatic assault weapons, assault weapon attachments, 50 caliber rifles, and 50 caliber cartridges" in the state.

The bill also would ban "large-capacity" ammunition feeding devices that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. Anyone owning such a magazine, belt, drum, or similar device would be required to destroy it or surrender it to a law enforcement agency within 90 days of the law taking effect.

Second Amendment supporters say the bill is designed to stop a major hunting/fishing retailer, Cabela's, from opening a superstore in suburban Chicago.

Several Illinois-based manufacturers of sporting arms plan to hold a press conference on Wednesday to voice their opposition to the bill. Among other things, they will emphasize the bill's adverse effect on the Illinois economy - a direct loss of more than 750 jobs and $150 million in manufacturing sales, the gun makers say.

Even firearms manufacturers not located in Illinois would experience a ripple effect on their retail sales, critics warn.

The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) has accused Blagovevich and Daley of trying to end private gun ownership in the state by thwarting the lawful retail sale of firearms.

The Nebraska-based Cabela's recently announced plans to build a superstore in Hoffman Estates, northwest of Chicago. The store would employ 400 people and feature a wide variety of sports and outdoor gear. The retail sale of firearms would be a major component of its business, ISRA said.

ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson noted that the village of Hoffman Estates has worked for three years to bring Cabela's to town - even repealing a local gun registration ordinance.

"Hoffman Estates jumped ship, and Daley won't stand for that. This is yet another example of Mayor Daley looking to extend his power and control beyond Chicago's city limits," Pearson said earlier this month.

If the ban on retail gun sales becomes law, "it just wouldn't pay to stay in the retail firearms business -- and that's precisely the intent of this legislation," Pearson said.

It wouldn't pay to stay as a manufacturer either. A few weeks ago I quoted Todd Vandermyde:

Illinois’ firearms manufacturers have told us that should any form of HB-2414 pass, they will be leaving the state, taking with them over $300 million in manufacturing. Jobs, taxes and other revenue will be lost. So once again, our boy wonder Governor’s plan for Illinois economic recovery is to export more Illinois jobs, more business and more opportunities. That is a message that you can reinforce when you call your state representatives about this bill.

Think about that! If it becomes illegal to manufacture whatever Blagovevich and Daley consider an "assault weapon" in Illinois, companies such as Armalite and Rock River Arms would HAVE to move or else stop production on some of the most popular sportsmen's rifles in the country. Indeed, others such as Springfield Armory and Les Baer would have to, too. After all, many of their pistols have magazines holding more than 10 rounds and competitive forces would cause them to lose sales if they started limiting magazine capacity. I strongly suspect that is what their press conference tomorrow will address.

Besides being on the losing side of the gun control issue, Illinois liberals would create the spectacle of hurting the state's economy by costing it thousands of jobs as well as the revenue from business tax receipts from the gun manufacturers. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!