U.S. Newswire
1 May 9:15

Last Vestiges of Chicago's Shooting Sports Traditions Crushed As Hunting Rifle Ban Goes Into Effect, Says ISRA

To: State Desk
Contact: Richard Pearson of the Illinois State Rifle Association,
815-635-3198; Web site: http://www.isra.org

The final remnants of what were once thriving shooting sports
traditions will be snuffed out on May 1st when the city of Chicago
enacts a ban on rifles having bores of .50 caliber or greater. The
ban includes black powder rifles - the only rifles approved for
deer hunting in the state.

The hunting rifle ban serves as the final chapter in a
two-decade long effort on the part of Chicago city officials to
obliterate the shooting sports. In the 1980s, the city's handgun
ban effectively told competitive pistol shooters to either give up
their sport, or to get out of town. Later, the so-called "assault
weapons" ban gave thousands of additional residents the choice of
giving up high power rifle competition, or moving out of Chicago.
On May 1st, deer hunters will be given that same choice - give up
hunting or leave the city.

Chicago Police Superintendent Terry Hillard penned the directive
banning hunting rifles at the behest of Chicago Mayor Richard
Daley. Under the Chicago Municipal Code, Hillard is granted
exclusive authority to ban firearms however and whenever he
chooses. His boss, Richie Daley, has said time and time again that
if it were up to him, nobody would own a gun. With Daley and
Hillard in power, it was only a matter of time before hunters were
targeted for extinction.

Other than a handful shotgun owners, the only Chicagoans who
will own guns after May 1st will be those who refused to register
their guns with the city and, of course, the legions of gun toting
criminals who roam Chicago's streets.

Chicago residents who have failed to register their guns and/or
failed to dispose of them as of May 1st may soon find their homes
being raided by members of the Chicago Police Department's
notorious CAGE unit.

Since there are no apparent plans to confiscate guns from
criminals, Chicago will probably retain its title as the nations
murder capitol -- a pathetic and enduring testimonial to
Superintendent Hillard's ineptitude.

"The events of this week in Chicago are yet another example of
why the Illinois General Assembly needs to pass statewide firearm
preemption," said ISRA president Richard Pearson. "The authority
to regulate private firearm ownership should lie with the
legislature, and not be placed in the hands of a political
appointee like Terry Hillard."
http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/first/0501-102.html