State Representative Dennis Tipsword and several of his House Republican colleagues this week stood up for law-abiding gun owners’ rights, agreeing with multiple court rulings declaring Democrats’ most recent Illinois gun ban “unconstitutional”. Tipsword (R-Metamora) stressed that banning guns and demanding registration do nothing to deter violent criminals.
“Based on my nearly 30 years in law enforcement I can assure you that bans and registries don’t deter or punish criminals…they only punish responsible gun owners who are trying their best to follow the law,” said Tipsword.
Rep. Tipsword and other House Republicans were joined at a press conference by representatives of the Illinois State Rifle Association, who released a statement on their confidence that the court rulings striking down the ban apply statewide.
“After reviewing with counsel the Macon County Circuit Court’s decision, based on how the decision is not explicitly limited to one named person or group of persons, and based on how the Opinion clearly finds the challenged law unconstitutional on a facial basis as opposed to being unconstitutional as-applied to any particular person or persons, the ISRA believes that the Macon County decision is meant to be read to apply to all persons in the State. We acknowledge that the language therein also seems aimed towards facilitating an Illinois Supreme Court review, and we are confident that the skillful attorneys representing the plaintiffs will successfully present their arguments to that Court at the appropriate time.”
Rep. Tipsword said the matter has now been placed on the Illinois Supreme Court’s docket for consideration in late spring.
“Governor Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and all of our statewide Constitutional Officers took an oath to uphold our state constitution…so why are they continuing to push for enforcement of legislation that multiple judges have declared unconstitutional?” Rep. Tipsword asked. “To prevent gun violence we need to harden soft targets, including schools. We need to enhance penalties for violent offenders with multiple gun violations, and we need to stop revolving door policies under the SAFE-T-ACT that put violent felons back on the streets within hours of their arrest.”