Fanny Packs at Taste of Chicago

Drizzt · June 25, 2001, 08:50 AM

I guess this shouldn't be too much of a suprise, coming as it does from the Chicago Tribune, but the amount of vitriol spewed, even for an editorial, makes this a bit over the top.....

Annie get your fanny pack

June 25, 2001
Pack up the antacid and strap on a bulletproof vest, because Taste of Chicago is almost here. And this year, a group of would-be vigilantes have declared July 4--one of the busiest days at Chicago's biggest outdoor food and drink bacchanal--to be "Gun Day."

Supporters of what are called concealed-carry laws want less regulation on their ability to carry concealed firearms. They're urging their sympathizers to strap on fanny packs containing unloaded handguns and go "have a good time" at Taste of Chicago, according to the Web site of Oak Brook-based Concealed Carry Inc.

The idea is to confuse Cook County State's Atty. Dick Devine and Chicago police, according to the Web site. "Let the police figure out which in the crowd of 200,000 is carrying and who is not."

In Illinois, registered gun owners are allowed to transport guns that are unloaded and enclosed in a case or other container. The thinking is that it shouldn't be against the law for a marksman or hunter to transport firearms to the range or a rural area. Carrying a deceptively hidden gun, however, is a felony. But one person's "enclosed" gun may be another person's "hidden" gun. Illinois law isn't as clear as it should be. Three separate pieces of legislation that attempted to close the definitional loophole in the law went nowhere in the legislature this spring.

Last year gun lobbyists decided to slither around the spirit, though not the letter, of that law. They have been urging their fellow Second Amendment advocates to make a mockery of the statute by carrying unloaded guns in fanny packs, storing ammo separately but still at one's fingertips. (Those guns aren't hidden, the thinking goes; they're enclosed.) The concealed-carry activists also are encouraging folks to pack water pistols to really "fake out" police.

"Cooperate with law enforcement," they caution. "We are there to make a point and have a good time and not provoke an arrest by a police officer who in all probability agrees with us and not with [Mayor Richard] Daley," who favors more restrictive gun laws.

Devine regards fanny packs as holsters. He has warned that if police make arrests of people packing heat in fanny packs, he will prosecute them for carrying weapons illegally.

Police spokesman David Bayless says that if police have probable cause to search someone wearing a fanny pack, they will. "Whenever there are more illegal guns out there, it makes the job of Chicago police officers more difficult and more unsafe," he says.

So if the concealed-carry folks want to test the resolve of law enforcement by creating a showdown at the Grant Park band shell, let's help the cops.

Leave your own fanny packs at home. And if you happen to see the flash of a semi-automatic as the guy next to you reaches into his fanny pack for a food coupon, report him to an officer.

Just as there are many ways to resolve problems, there are plenty of effective ways to make a point. None of them need to involve guns.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/o...250223,FF.html

KSFreeman · June 25, 2001, 09:38 AM

Chicago is such a wonderful place TO VISIT. I pray for all the good people trapped there. Keep fighting someday the evil that is the Chicago Democratic Party will fall as all great tyrannies do!

Last weekend I carried my pistols at the Taste of Tippecanoe here in Lafayette. There were no shootings and no crime (and I ate too much--got treadmill?).

Mr. Devine, isn't it funny how geography affects crime. I am a law-abiding, peaceful citizen here, but as soon as I cross the state line into the PR, I am a dangerous felon. Funny, huh?

croyance · June 25, 2001, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Pack up the antacid and strap on a bulletproof vest, because Taste of Chicago is almost here. And this year, a group of would-be vigilantes have declared July 4--one of the busiest days at Chicago's biggest outdoor food and drink bacchanal--to be "Gun Day."

Okay, why do you need bulleproof vests for unloaded guns?
And these guys are "would-be vigilantes" but the black panthers were just a protest group? They aren't even going after somebody, just protesting. So now if you protest against something "liberals" are for, you are a vigilante.

June 25, 2001, 08:50 AM	#1
Drizzt Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2000 Location: Going Out of My Head at a Rapid Pace..... Posts: 2,511	Fanny Packs at Taste of Chicago I guess this shouldn't be too much of a suprise, coming as it does from the Chicago Tribune, but the amount of vitriol spewed, even for an editorial, makes this a bit over the top..... Annie get your fanny pack June 25, 2001 Pack up the antacid and strap on a bulletproof vest, because Taste of Chicago is almost here. And this year, a group of would-be vigilantes have declared July 4--one of the busiest days at Chicago's biggest outdoor food and drink bacchanal--to be "Gun Day." Supporters of what are called concealed-carry laws want less regulation on their ability to carry concealed firearms. They're urging their sympathizers to strap on fanny packs containing unloaded handguns and go "have a good time" at Taste of Chicago, according to the Web site of Oak Brook-based Concealed Carry Inc. The idea is to confuse Cook County State's Atty. Dick Devine and Chicago police, according to the Web site. "Let the police figure out which in the crowd of 200,000 is carrying and who is not." In Illinois, registered gun owners are allowed to transport guns that are unloaded and enclosed in a case or other container. The thinking is that it shouldn't be against the law for a marksman or hunter to transport firearms to the range or a rural area. Carrying a deceptively hidden gun, however, is a felony. But one person's "enclosed" gun may be another person's "hidden" gun. Illinois law isn't as clear as it should be. Three separate pieces of legislation that attempted to close the definitional loophole in the law went nowhere in the legislature this spring. Last year gun lobbyists decided to slither around the spirit, though not the letter, of that law. They have been urging their fellow Second Amendment advocates to make a mockery of the statute by carrying unloaded guns in fanny packs, storing ammo separately but still at one's fingertips. (Those guns aren't hidden, the thinking goes; they're enclosed.) The concealed-carry activists also are encouraging folks to pack water pistols to really "fake out" police. "Cooperate with law enforcement," they caution. "We are there to make a point and have a good time and not provoke an arrest by a police officer who in all probability agrees with us and not with [Mayor Richard] Daley," who favors more restrictive gun laws. Devine regards fanny packs as holsters. He has warned that if police make arrests of people packing heat in fanny packs, he will prosecute them for carrying weapons illegally. Police spokesman David Bayless says that if police have probable cause to search someone wearing a fanny pack, they will. "Whenever there are more illegal guns out there, it makes the job of Chicago police officers more difficult and more unsafe," he says. So if the concealed-carry folks want to test the resolve of law enforcement by creating a showdown at the Grant Park band shell, let's help the cops. Leave your own fanny packs at home. And if you happen to see the flash of a semi-automatic as the guy next to you reaches into his fanny pack for a food coupon, report him to an officer. Just as there are many ways to resolve problems, there are plenty of effective ways to make a point. None of them need to involve guns. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/o...250223,FF.html __________________ "That a free citizen should have to go before a committee, hat in hand, and pray for permission to bear arms - fantastic! Arm your daughter, sir, and pay no attention to petty bureaucrats." Robert Heinlein - Red Planet

June 25, 2001, 09:38 AM	#2
KSFreeman Senior Member Join Date: June 9, 2001 Location: Lafayette, Indiana--American-occupied America Posts: 5,404	Chicago is such a wonderful place TO VISIT. I pray for all the good people trapped there. Keep fighting someday the evil that is the Chicago Democratic Party will fall as all great tyrannies do! Last weekend I carried my pistols at the Taste of Tippecanoe here in Lafayette. There were no shootings and no crime (and I ate too much--got treadmill?). Mr. Devine, isn't it funny how geography affects crime. I am a law-abiding, peaceful citizen here, but as soon as I cross the state line into the PR, I am a dangerous felon. Funny, huh?