Mark Kirk announces his run for Senate alongside another anti-gun Illinois Republican, former
Republican Governor Jim Edgar. Edgar was famous for declaring that he would "veto any CCW
bill that reached his desk," while Kirk proudly pushes for federal gun bans.
(AP Photo/David Banks)
Today, it's time to talk about another anti-gun force in Chicago: Representative Mark Kirk, R-Suburbia. Rep. Kirk announced on Monday that he will run to replace Roland "Tombstone" Burris, D-Blagojevich, as Illinois' junior Senator. Kirk is a Republican with a lot of support from influential media figures and Illinois politicians, and he could be a serious contender for Burris' seat, something Burris never managed to do. But for Illinois gun owners, Mark Kirk may not be cause for celebration. Kirk is best known among gun owners and activists for his proposal last year to revive the federal "Assault Weapons Ban" after its sunset provision ended it in 2004. He's rated "D" by the NRA (of whom he is said to have said "the NRA is more powerful than Al-Qaeda”) and endorsed by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership. His Gun Owners of America rating is a dismal "F-" grade. That's right, "F-minus." How does a Republican like Kirk get a rating like that? It's not easy:
- Propose a new "assault weapons ban" to replace the first useless ban four years after it expired.
- Propose to "close" a nonexistent "gun show loophole" that makes even less sense since Illinois already requires the background checks involved.
- Propose to "close" the "Terror Gap" by prohibiting sales of firearms to anyone on the "Terrorist Watch List"--perhaps forgetting that the people on that list are not accused of any wrongdoing and are often just people with similar names--the glaring exception being Ted Kennedy. An actual accused murderer, Kennedy was removed from the list rather promptly.
- Vote against a measure to prohibit frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers (the lawsuits in question were based on the actions of others with guns, not anything the manufacturers themselves did.)
Others will write about Kirk's decision to vote for President Obama's "Cap and Trade" bill, his other high-profile break with the Republican Party, and many Republicans will no doubt label him a "RINO." But RINO stands for "Republican In Name Only," and in Illinois, that may not be an accurate description of Mark Kirk. Kirk embraces some positions many think of as "liberal" or "Democratic," but his district is in the northern suburbs of Chicago, where being anti-gun has been a real asset to a politician of either party in the past. That may not hold true in the future, given current trends, but it's not hard to see why Kirk feels safe expressing his anti-gun positions as a Republican in that district. In the last election, he had a long running argument with his opponent, Democrat Dan Seals, over who was the most ardent gun-banner and who really had the backing of the anti-gun pressure groups, not over whether either should respect the 2nd Amendment. That was a long-settled "no" for both, and the truth is, the Republican Party leadership in Illinois loves Kirk because he manages to put an (R) on the 10th District instead of a (D).
In Illinois, this is more common than many political partisans realize. Kirk is part of a long line of anti-gun Republican politicians in Illinois. George Ryan, Illinois' last Republican Governor, is currently cooling his heels in a federal prison camp in Indiana. But as Governor, he was consistently anti-gun, not only refusing to consider concealed carry but also stumping for assault weapons bans. In fact, it was Ryan who increased the penalties for Unlawful Use of a Weapon to make it a felony to carry a loaded gun in Illinois. Readers may remember Ryan declaring at a press conference that he had never needed an AR-15 to hunt squirrels as a boy, because as Sonia Sotomayor has taught us, bans on weapons not used for hunting squirrels are Constitutional. Before Ryan, there was Governor Jim Edgar, who declared repeatedly that he would veto any concealed carry measure that made it to his desk. And after Ryan's tenure, the first time Illinois voters had the chance to avoid the oncoming train that was the Blagojevich Administration, the GOP offered up another Republican named Ryan (Jim Ryan, no relation to George.) Jim Ryan was Illinois Attorney General at that time, and in order to punch up his anti-gun credentials for the coming gubernatorial campaign, he ordered an online sting operation to catch people selling guns illegally on the internet. When his investigators couldn't find anyone doing that, they resorted to entrapment, cajoling sellers to violate federal law by improperly shipping the firearms--while repeatedly assuring the sellers that everything they were doing was completely legal. It was an ugly moment even by Illinois political standards, and it didn't take a Democrat to accomplish it.
In short, Mark Kirk is not some aberration in the Republican Party. The GOP in Illinois has a long history of taking gun owners for granted without even throwing them a bone, and Mark Kirk is the latest iteration. The pattern has to be broken at some point, or Illinois gun owners will never be taken seriously by either party. That's a lot easier said than done; if Mark Kirk wins the Republican nomination, we're going to hear a lot about "the lesser of two evils" and "the balance of power in the Senate." Even so, Illinois shooters are going to have to weigh their options carefully, not yank a lever because we recognize a name with an (R) next to it.
Not long after this piece was published, Macon County Conservative Examiner Robert Moon wrote a piece along similar lines, but focused on Mark Kirk's vote in favor of "Cap and Trade" the curious fact that the Illinois Alliance for Growth continues to defend him like a battered wife screaming "He don't mean it! He loves me on the inside!" as the cops drag her man out of the trailer in compliance hold.
"Illinois Alliance for Growth continues to defend Mark Kirk"
Comments
may as well let the Democrats keep running Illinois then.. at least we can blame them, by electing Kirk all we get is a rino who takes lots of money from lobbyists and stiffs the actual rural people all across the state.
I would vote for Roland Burris for THE COMEDY he brings with his total lack of common sense, before I would vote for a worthless rino republican like Mark Kirk..
It will be FOR ONCE a pleasure to let the democrats take this senate seat if the best these worthless rino republicans can come up with for Illinoisans is Mark "Obama jr" Kirk.
What I'd like to see is an election between a credible pro-gun candidate and a credible anti-gun candidate. I think a lot of people would be shocked how that turned out. I'll let you know if I find a pro-gun candidate for Senate. I'm not holding my breath at the moment, at least not for anyone with the backing of either party.
Great blog (is it a blog or article?) Don. I knew you had a knack for words but I am blown away.
Yeah for Mark Kirk and I thought I'd never vote for another!
I understand the concern everyone has about Kirk's policy on guns. As a man who worships the 2nd ammendment, any anit-gun policy is scary. However, lets not be too quick to write off Mark Kirk. No democrat is ever going to support our gun ownership, and no concervative repubilican can win this state, just look at Alan Keyes. Kirk is atleast a step in the right direction, no pun intended. I would encourage all of you to support him; he is the best chance we have!
Chiburbian, if I call it a blog Examiner.com will dispatch ninjas to my home. I am to consider myself an "Authorized Journalist" only, on pain of death by ninja.
Joe, I really appreciate your substantive comment, but I do have to disagree. Glenn Poshard, Gary Hannig, and Debbie Halvorson are three examples off the top of my head of Democrats who are decidedly pro-gun. I'm not saying his Democrat opponent will be pro-gun--that really is unlikely--but that no one should assume that Mark Kirk is better for gun owners just because there's an R next to his name.
I first wrote Kirk around 2006, he clearly stated he supported gun control. Later he started using the anti-gun phrase that he supported common sense gun laws. (I support the right to keep & bear arms.)
I do not trust Mark Kirk and never voted for him, also never voted for Daniel Seals.
Kirk wrote about lowering abortions, yet he supports funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider.
I wrote him many times to oppose the carbon cap & trade weeks before the vote. He sent me a lame e-mail that the bill was not ideal, but he supported it anyway, RINO.
He recently voted for the hate crimes bill to make it illegal to speak against the perversion of homosexuality. I wrote him and asked for a reply why he voted for it, but no reply.
I don't believe the statement there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats, but in the case of Mark Kirk, I have not seen a difference.
I cannot vote for him. I doubt I could vote the Democrat candiate.
Joe wrote: No democrat is ever going to support our gun ownership.
I beg to differ. The NRANews.com recently reported 65 Federal house Democrats wrote a letter to the Obama administration to NOT ban (so-called) assault weapons (ordinary semi-automatic rifles).
I urge you to study each candidate's voting record. The ISRA, NRA, NRLA, and NTU rate candidates too.
The NRA reported former representative Zell Miller, Democrat, is pro-2nd Amendment.
I agree with Don Gwinn. I want to see a heads up pro gun 2nd amendment guy & an anti-gunner line up for the Gov job. I am convinced the majority of Illinois voters will no longer support the Daley/Obama anti-gun agenda. If the State of Illinois citizens would look around they would discover we are in the minority when it comes to gun rights & self defense.If anyone attended the 2nd amendment rally at the Thompson Center or the IGOLD gun lobby day in Springfield they would surely have noticed the ever growing populated interest & attendence of Afro-Americans supporting gun ownership & self defense. There will be a movement for a gun advocate candidate statewide this election. When a good portion of Chicago voters go with Peoria, E. St Louis & most other populated cities besides all downstate counties then one candidate had better be a big gun supporter.I assure you Mark Kirk & other anti-gunners will find the voters have had enough of Chicago allowing the support of armed criminals.
Wilson: Who is a realistic pro-2nd Amendment candidate for governor of Illinois?
Adam Andrzejewski and Bill Brady are both pro-gun. Of the two, Brady is probably the most "realistic" candidate, whatever that means in a race with a dozen Republicans in it already. It's depressing to go down the list of Republican candidates and tick off the ones who are already on record as anti-gun.
I'd like to see someone like Brady against . . . well, hell, it's my fantasy, right? Let's say Bill Brady vs. Pat Quinn, with Roland Burris making a third-party run purely for my own personal amusement.
How fun would that be?
To be fair, I should mention Kirk voted against the huge (so-called) economic stimulus bill. However, I'm suspicious because the bill passed by a large margin, perhaps the Democrats didn't need Kirk's vote.
I suggest strongly that gun owners sit out the Senate race.
I suggest we need a candidate in the primary who supports the 2nd Amendment.
I hope the citizens get out early next time to choose their candidate. I plan on giving conservatives a choice at WilliamLee2014.org
We do have a STRONG 2nd Amendment supporter running in the Primary, his name is John Arrington. John is a strong Cristian Conservative that even supports concealed carry!! Go to www.arringtonforsenate.com and check him out!!
We do have a STRONG 2nd Amendment supporter running in the Primary, his name is John Arrington. John is a strong Cristian Conservative that even supports concealed carry!! Go to www.arringtonforsenate.com and check him out!!
As a retired police officer and a strong supporter of the republican party I am not going to vote for Mr. Kirk due to the fact his stand on the 2nd. amendment, I have voted for Mr Kirk in his last election and I have given donations to the party. It is sad that we have two useless senators not and I am urgeing all of my friends and relatives not to support anyone (like Mr. Kirk) for any elected office.
Why is there even an issue, why is there even a anti-gun candidate? It is already illegal to attack the constitution, hang them from a tree and they will stop right away...the problem is they keep coming back because no one holds them accountable and there is no consequence...I say death penalty for even looking at the constitution cross eyed...the problem will end tomorrow.
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